The working mom experience

Taking a break

2009-10-21T22:00:00.002-04:00

I'm going to shut down the blog for a while (as if I hadn't already). To be honest, I haven't had a lot of inspiration for this the last few months and have also become extremely busy, both at work and in my personal life. I wish everyone well and will try to check in on others' blogs as I have time. I just don't have the ability right now to actually write my own.

Thanks to all who have listened to me ramble over the last year-plus!

Finally a break in the action

2009-09-28T15:29:00.002-04:00

I've had a busy 4-6 weeks, to say the least, both personally and at work. Now, I finally have a break at work and thought I'd put together a quick post about Halloween.

Myles has big plans this year. He wanted it this way and I, of course, was happy to plan for him. Starting next weekend, we'll have tons of stuff going on:

*Sea World Spooktacular (first year trying this, as we just got passes through the end of the year)
*Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween (at Disney's Magic Kingdom)
*Trick-or-treating at Daddy's workplace (this was a blast last year)
*Trick-or-treating at daycare (again, a great time for him and I take this day off from work)

And of course, Halloween itself, which will include trick-or-treating around the neighborhood.

Billy and I are both dressing up this year - at Myles' request. I think I'm dressing as a witch and we're not sure about Billy. Myles has two costumes this year - his choice, a character named "Dementor," who is apparently on Harry Potter and looks very scary, and our "nice guy" costume, which he wanted no part of, a UPS guy.

For now, he's only wearing Dementor on Halloween and MAYBE at Billy's office. It's not appropriate for the daycare, Sea World or even Disney, IMO.

Regardless, we're planning to have a great time during this season and continue it on through Thanksgiving and Christmas. And to top it off, we start October with our first lows in the '60s. Aaah, comfort is finally on its way back to Florida!

Busy, busy

2009-09-15T11:41:00.004-04:00

I was on a cruise from Aug. 29-Sept. 6 and am just starting to come up for air. Never knew how much it takes out of you to be gone for so long.

I'm way behind on my updates so here's a (very) quick overview.

1. Billy and I celebrated 10 years on 9.5 while on the cruise ship! We had a wonderful time and visited Cozumel, Costa Rica and Panama. You can see a link to our photos here. We did not take Myles and it is the LAST time we'll do a vacation w/o him. We missed him terribly and talked to him very little due to the sky-high costs of calling someone while on a ship.

2. Myles turned 3.5 years old on 9.13 and we celebrated w/ a trip to Sea World and a cute alligator cake that he picked out. I posted a couple of photos below.

I'll try to catch up w/ everyone this week. Hope you are all well!

Thinking ahead

2009-08-18T13:36:00.002-04:00

Myles and I had a conversation this morning about Halloween. We are going to have a blast this year! You see, I have a son who is obsessed with villains. He will have a tough time deciding just what "meanine" he wants to be. He told me today he wants to be a ghost, but we'll see.

I do know I am taking him shopping for his costume for the first time this year. Letting him pick out his costume will be so much fun - and even better seeing him wear it! He talked the whole ride this morning about scaring everyone and saying "trick or treat." Heck, he's got me so excited, I may even dress up with him!

We are planning to take Myles back to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party this year, some Sunday in October. We had such a great time last year, it's a must-do for our family for the forseeable future. We will also have the trick-or-treating parade at the daycare to look forward to, along with, of course, Halloween itself.

I'm excited just thinking about it! Come on, October!!!

Myself Belts - hopefully a lifesaver

2009-08-17T15:02:00.003-04:00

We were over at my friend Molly's house this weekend and started talking about school uniforms. She has 3 boys and her middle boy is in private school, where he is required to wear a specific uniform each day. She proceeded to tell me about these great belts she buys for him (since he's required to wear them at school) at a site called Myself Belts. She brought one outside so that I could see it and I just had to buy one for Myles!

Myles has never owned a belt and now that he is approaching 3 1/2 - and is wearing more little boy type clothes instead of toddler clothes, he needs them. Plus, he's a very tall boy and we often have issues with shorts and pants that are a little big in the waist but fine in the length. Just the other day, he came home from daycare with his pants safety pinned so they would stop falling down!

Myself Belts offers boys' and girls' belts that look like a regular belt with a clasp, but actually fasten with velcro, making them easy for small children to work with when they need to go to the potty. I received confirmation that his belt shipped today and I can't wait to try it out. I'll be sure to post how it works out!

Great quote

2009-08-13T13:21:00.002-04:00

I had a rough night and rough morning with Myles. The timer is still working well but he is lashing out terribly and saying some awful things to us. He assures us he wants out of our house and wants to go live with his Mimi (my mom) in Ocala. He'll get that chance for nine days at the end of the month.

Anyway, I was extremely down today and feeling like a giant loser of a parent. I started looking for some inspiration online and found a great quote: "Be willing to let go of the good things so that you can spend enough time on the best things."

I need to take this to heart. Myles is that best thing. Time to start cutting.

Making progress with a 3 year-old

2009-08-12T11:31:00.005-04:00

I have to say this: 3 has been a really tough age for Myles, Billy and me. Gone are the days of the sweet baby, and even the curious (but still sweet) 2 year-old. Three has been - at best - a challenge. Billy and I have often felt like we're drowning in our efforts to find the right approach to stop some of Myles' trying ways...and have been coming up empty time after time.

But now, we may be onto something. We bought a kitchen timer. I introduced him to "my friend Timer" and told him that Timer would be going off when it was time for him to do something. At dinner, he has 25 minutes to eat. If Timer goes off before he finishes, the dogs get what's left. At 9:00, Timer goes off again and it's time for bath. You get the picture.

Well of course, being a 3 year-old, the first night at dinner with Timer was a big test. He ignored our warnings and thought there would be no consequences. He played most of dinner, only taking a bite of applesauce here and there and completely ignoring the chicken on his plate. Well, Timer went off and I walked over to pick up the plate. He FREAKED out! No! No! No! I'll eat! You can't take my plate! No food for the dogs!

He put his arms around the plate so that I couldn't get to it. Billy and I were shocked. So we gave in. We put 5 minutes on Timer and said if the food wasn't gone when Timer went off again, he was done. He chowed down his food in record time.

The second night was much easier. We put Timer on the table, told him he had 25 minutes, and the food was gone before it went off. We gave him major kudos and told him over and over again that he had "won." He had "beat" Timer! (He's extremely competitive so one way to make him do anything you want is to make it a race.)

Timer is also working fairly well so far for bath and bed time. Could we be making some progress? With God's grace, we are. I don't know how much more I can take!

When again is he turning four???

Tadpole lesson

2009-08-03T10:29:00.003-04:00

Billy brought home about 10 tadpoles Thursday night from our friends Scott and Dianne's house. They are now living in a glass in our kitchen, just waiting to sprout their legs.

Myles is in charge of feeding them their fish food twice per day and watching out for their legs to sprout. Dianne is also letting us use a neat educational book (good for 3-5 year olds) called "From Tadpole to Frog" to explain to Myles the process of how frogs come to be.

He seems fairly interested in them at this point, but not overly. He doesn't think to feed them himself (I have to remind him) and he usually spends about 60 seconds watching them eat before he's off to his play room to race his cars.

When they grow their legs, the plan is to put the glass outside so that they can hop away where and when they choose. What I won't be doing is this (see link). I'd have A LOT of explaining (and comforting) to do.

August.....nooooooo (or yes?)

2009-07-29T10:12:00.002-04:00

I hate August. It's because I live in Florida and August is always unbearable here. So when July hits and I start thinking about how close we're coming to August, I always start to cringe (although this July has been hot enough to compete w/ our typical August so how much worse could it get?).

It's also a likely time for a hurricane to hit and it seems to drag on w/ no holidays...just long, hot, miserable days.

This year, however, I have a reason to look forward to it. Billy and I have booked a Caribbean cruise that leaves August 29 and doesn't return until Sept. 6! Our 10-year anniversary falls on Sept. 5 and we decided we would really make it special. Since we never had a honeymoon, or even a real wedding, and since we beat the odds of making it this far when many people thought our marriage would fail, we are thinking we deserve the celebration.

Sadly, we're not taking Myles with us. I struggled badly w/ this decision but Billy really wants this to be our (very) late honeymoon. Who knows...maybe I'll get pregnant again! :)

We've booked an ATV shore excursion in Cozumel, a white water rafting trip in Costa Rica and a sightseeing tour of the Panama Canal and Panama City in Panama. So here's to NO hurricanes in the Caribbean that week.

Getting creative

2009-07-20T13:00:00.002-04:00

One of the reasons I've slowed down my blogging is that I have decided to take up scrapbooking. I'm sure those people who know me are laughing right now as I am not a creative person when it comes to that type of thing. I'm creative at work, like with new ideas for events, promotions, headlines, etc., but about as bland as can be with fashion, decorating and other similar areas.

What started this is that I was going through photos on the computer recently and realized just how many amazing things we've done with Myles. And although they are documented in iPhoto, if our hard drive blew up, all of the proof of those memories would be lost. I was actually shocked to see all we've done!

So now I'm trying to start organizing it all through scrapbooking. If anyone has ideas, please share! I'm completely lost!

I'm a new aunt!

2009-07-15T09:04:00.004-04:00

My brother and his wife welcomed their first child last night, Riley James. He was a big boy (almost 9 lbs) and is completely healthy. This is the first niece/nephew on my side of the family and I am so excited to meet him. We plan to make the 2-hour drive Saturday.

I've not been blogging (or reading) as much lately due to pure busy-ness. I've been much busier at work for the past couple of weeks and we seem to have a lot going on at home as well, between kids' birthday parties (FOUR since mid-June) and spending time w/ friends.

I also haven't had as much inspiration in the topics area so that hasn't helped. I guess I'm in a bit of a funk, heavily questioning about my career path, still dealing w/ the miscarriage and the never-ending string of pregnant friends (as much as I hate it, I always wonder why me), struggling to properly parent an increasingly difficult 3 year-old and not feeling like I'm really doing anything (work or parenting) particularly well these days.

I guess we all go through these times. Let's just say I can't WAIT for this awful 3 year-old stage to be over!

Vacations w/ kids are hard

2009-07-07T21:50:00.002-04:00

I learned this lesson over the weekend. We took a last minute trip to Mt. Dora, FL for the long holiday weekend and joined two other couples. Four kids were there in all, each under the age of six.

While I had a fabulous time and definitely want to do it again, I learned how difficult it is to take a vacation with a child. We've never taken Myles anywhere other than Atlanta and to the Florida beaches, where I always have loads of family around to help keep him entertained.

A lot of the entertaining fell on me over the weekend and when Sunday night rolled around and I was facing another workweek, I felt tired and stressed. Totally not relaxed.

On a positive note, this helped make our decision for our 10-year anniversary trip this year. We're going alone. It will most likely be the last trip we take without Myles until he's old enough to tell us he's not going. But since it's such a special occasion, we're going to do it. Now we just have to decide where to go!

Product Review - pet shampoo

2009-06-30T17:14:00.002-04:00

I wrote in an earlier blog that I would be reviewing a pet shampoo soon. Well, I finally had time to wash the dog and the hypoallergenic pet shampoo from ecostore USA was a hit!

I have a pug and she sheds a lot and stinks horribly. I've been trying different shampoos for a while and nothing really seems to get her clean. I feel like I have to use half a bottle sometimes to fully cover her plump body and even when I'm finished, she still doesn't seem much better off than she was before I washed her.

The biggest difference I noticed with this shampoo is that, similar to the baby wash, it lathered up a lot more and I was able to use less and really have her whole body covered in bubbles. It smelled pleasant enough, although very similar to other pet shampoos I've used. I'd actually love to find a pet shampoo with a stronger smell (like the baby wash), since my dogs always seem to smell so badly.

I will definitely continue using this product, as it was certainly a step above the others I've found. I can't promise your dog won't stink after his first run around your yard, but at least you'll feel he's really been cleaned. All in all, thumbs up!

Board games - a free, fun, healthy family activity

2009-06-24T09:14:00.003-04:00

Last night Billy and I took Myles to see Mr. Richard at Chick Fil-A. He plays there one Tuesday evening per month for "Musical Suppertime" and since we hadn't been in a few months, we thought it was time. We met a few friends and Myles had lots of fun in the play area and listening to a few of his favorite Mr. Richard tunes.

But what happened afterward is what was really special. We bought Candyland (the board game) for Myles this past Christmas. We play it somewhat regularly, with me usually recommending it because I'll do anything but spend another minute playing with matchbox cars.

Last night, Myles wanted to play, so all three of us sat down at the coffee table. Myles really understands the game now and LOVES landing on one of the picture squares (unless it's licorice - where you lose a turn - or one of the cards that sends you back to the beginning of the board). We spent close to an hour and playing four games! We played him fair and square and he still ended up winning three of the four. Myles is a very sore loser (he throws a major screaming fit) so we're working with him on how to both win and lose gracefully.

When we put him to bed, he seemed so happy. So were we. I went to sleep knowing we had spent good, quality time with Myles, investing in him and helping him understand another one of life's lessons. So many nights, we just sit down and watch a movie...I think this is a much better alternative.

Funny video

2009-06-22T12:52:00.004-04:00

This video was taken in the car yesterday on our way to see my dad for Father's Day. I thought it was funny.

Father's Day is coming

2009-06-19T12:29:00.003-04:00

I hope everyone is looking forward to a wonderful Father's Day. I'm still trying to get my husband to tell me if I can see my own dad on Father's Day (he's 90 miles away and typically, Father's Day is reserved for whatever Billy wants to do). This is a rare quiet weekend for us w/ no plans w/ friends and no birthday parties. Hopefully we can spend some time outdoors and I pray it's not too unbearably hot.

Myles is truly a lucky boy to have such a wonderful daddy. Today, they shared Father's Day breakfast at the daycare and he sang Billy a song he learned in class. He also made him some cute keepsakes, which I know made Billy feel really special. I don't say it enough but Billy is really an amazing father and a man that I'm proud and excited to be spending my life with.

Happy Father's Day, Billy! I love you more each day we're together.

Lunchtime dash!

2009-06-18T13:08:00.002-04:00

I don't know about you, but I feel like I have a never-ending list of errands that need to be run. And the list only grew when I had Myles three years ago. Since my husband is "not the errand type," I keep a running to-do list.

As a working mom, what time is there to get these things done? Lunchtime!

First off, I'm not big on spending money on lunches out. I go out about 2-3 times per month to connect with friends I don't see much and I bring my lunch the other days. So since I'm always eating at my desk, I can get out to start checking off my to-do list.

Sometimes, it's a mad dash. Case in point: yesterday. I made a short list, which included picking up some supplies that my boss needed me to purchase for the employee gym. I started at Stein Mart, hoping to find my dad an outfit for Father's Day. No luck. So I raced to the mall, where I had pre-purchased some foundation and needed to pick it up during the "free gift" promotion. Since I was basically out of the tester foundation they'd given me to hold me over, I needed to do this ASAP. Check. Then I ran to Target to pick up the work supplies and while I was there, I figured I'd pick up a birthday gift for a little girl whose party Myles will attend next weekend, as well as a card for one of his old daycare teachers, whose last day is today. Check. Finally, I'd had a rare coffee craving all day and since I had a coupon for a free McCafe w/ no purchase required, I went to the McDonalds drive-through to pick one up. I did all of this in one hour, ten minutes!

What I didn't get to do was purchase a gift for a little boy whose party we have on the same day as the little girl's (it's a joint party and I hadn't heard back yet from the mom on what he wants), actually BUY a Father's Day gift for my dad, buy Billy's Father's Day gifts from me and Myles, and buy my Mother in-law's birthday gift (June 22). There simply wasn't enough time. But that's on my list for tomorrow!

This may sound insane to some people - spending your lunch hours this way - but for me, it works. It saves me from spending money on lunches and gives me more quality time with Myles and Billy, free of errands. What about other moms? When do you get your errands run?

Best baby wash EVER

2009-06-17T22:29:00.003-04:00

I was contacted to do my first product review and boy, did I luck out! I reviewed the baby wash from ecostore, a New Zealand-based company that offers "genuinely clean and green products," ranging from baby care to bath and body to household cleaners.

I'd been using a popular brand of baby wash on Myles for quite a while and the first time I opened the ecostore Baby Body Wash, I knew it was radically different. First of all, it smells AMAZING! When I finish washing Myles, I want to sit and smell him for the rest of the night. I even sneak in a few sniffs after he falls asleep! It also leaves his skin very soft and seems to glide on easier and suds him up better than other products I've used.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that it includes "no nasty chemicals" - as ecostore's slogan states. And it's good for the planet.

My only gripe is the cost seems a little steep at $10 for a 6.8 fl oz bottle, more than three times what I pay for a traditional baby wash. But since the smell is just so amazing and Myles himself seems to enjoy being bathed with it, they've turned me into a believer - and a new customer.

Check out ecostore's USA site at www.ecostoreusa.com. And enjoy!

PS - I will also be reviewing ecostore's pet shampoo...I just haven't had time yet to wash the dog! Such is the life of the working mom!

Layout issues

2009-06-15T12:06:00.002-04:00

FYI, I have obviously changed my layout. This is just a temporary solution though. When I logged on this morning, my page was covered with Photobucket ads and it was basically unreadable. I did some searching to see what the problem was and it was something with my blog designer's personal page. Since I don't have the time at work right now to go and find a new design that suits me and this content well, I'm going with a generic design until I do have the time. Hope everyone is having a happy Monday (or at least as happy as Mondays can get!).

Welcome to summer

2009-06-12T13:29:00.005-04:00

I live in Florida. Therefore, I despise the summertime and live for winter. Our 70-degree days from December through February are far more appealing than the 95-plus-degree heat we feel from June through September. And if I had it my way, I'd be out of here in favor of the Pacific Northwest from about May 1 through November 1.

I digress though. There are some nice things about the summer despite the blazing heat that nearly melts your skin. Vacations are #1 and Myles was on one w/ my parents for the past week. He did Disney's Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Blizzard Beach (the closest we get to snow down here) and spent many other days in the resort pool. Below are some pictures from his fun week. All I can say is I'm glad he's home!

Myles at Animal Kingdom

Myles and a snowbaby at Blizzard Beach

Myles and my dad in the resort pool

Where are all of the working mommies?

2009-06-10T10:14:00.003-04:00

I was talking to my co-worker yesterday about the need for so many "sick/personal" days when you have a little one. My place of employment only offers five sick days, four personals and ten vacation days until you've been with the company for five years.

Since I've had Myles, I burn through the sick days before we're halfway through the year and I always need to use at least two personal days for sickness as well. Then I have the daycare, which is closed for many more holidays than my place of employment. At my job, we only get SIX holidays. The daycare is closed for those six holidays PLUS six and one half additional. Well, even if my husband and I split those days, I've now burned through all of my personal days, plus a vacation day.

The co-worker then mentioned that when her boys were younger, she and her other working mom friends would take turns watching the kids on the days when they were scheduled to work, but the daycare was closed. They rotated holidays. What a great idea, I thought!

Then it hit me...in my circle of friends, I am THE ONLY ONE who has a traditional, 9-5 job! Yes, I do have other working mom friends, but they all have the type of job where they work when they are able and are not required to be in the office for 40 long, specific hours, like me.

About half of my friends are SAHMs. But I do have a few who work. One friend sells promotional products and does much of her work at home. She gets a sitter when she needs to go to the office, or puts her sons in a mother's morning out program. Another works for her husband...from home. Yet another is a wedding planner who works for herself and makes her own hours. A fourth works mostly from home and goes into the office one day a week. And another is a speech and language pathologist, who also makes her own hours and does her own thing.

When I come to realizations like this, I immediately begin to feel isolated. Like nobody understands me. Like I'm alone in this fight to help provide for my family while still trying to be a great mom and wife. Then I start feeling like I'm losing, even if I'm not.

I appreciate that I've met a few 9-5ers through this blog. And really, I know I'm not the only mom out there who works 9-5. Sometimes it just feels that way.

Back to reality

2009-06-09T13:18:00.002-04:00

I took the last 3 working days off for a much needed mini vacation. I spent a couple of nights w/ family on Florida's Gulf Coast, then met up w/ a friend for a short girls' weekend near Naples. I had a great time, complete w/ a massage, pedicure, shopping, lounge time at the pool, tasty fruity drinks and a soft, comfy bed all to myself.

But the entire time I was gone, I thought about Billy and Myles...and how great it would be to see them again on Sunday. And it was!

Of course, I wasn't thinking that about returning to work. While my job has many perks, I don't think anyone actually wants to go back after a long absence. I have three hours left in my first day back. I already can't wait for Friday.

Little black cloud growing bigger

2009-06-02T22:24:00.002-04:00

There seems to be a growing black cloud at my place of employment lately. In March, a co-worker started having serious marital problems. Another co-worker's wife had to have an emergency C-section at just 35 weeks due to severe eclampsia. She and the baby spent weeks in the hospital. Then, that same co-worker had his car stolen right out of his driveway just a few days after the wife came home w/ the baby.

Next, I had the miscarriage and another co-worker's husband lost his job. Of course, plenty of people at my company are losing their jobs...and have been for over a year now. I am starting to get used to it.

Now, in the past week, 911 has been called twice and both people were taken to the hospital for somewhat serious issues. Then, today, the co-worker who has been having marital problems announced she is getting a divorce...and may not return to work.

Wow...it seems this little black cloud that has parked itself at work is only getting bigger. And all of this bad news is becoming increasingly difficult to hear.

Mom 'do?

2009-06-01T15:54:00.003-04:00

So my hair has suddenly developed a bit of curl and with that comes a little frizz. I have hated dealing with it so decided there was no better time to chop it off. The hair desperately needed to be tamed since I was having no luck making it look descent. Plus, with temperatures now reaching the 90 degree range, maybe a shorter 'do wouldn't be too bad.

Below is a picture of the new, chopped hair. It looks very much like a typical mom 'do to me. I'm getting used to it, but I miss my long locks (although I do NOT miss the hair I had just before the cut). It's the shortest it's ever been and seems like it will be a lot easier to manage, something every mom likes to hear!

Anyway, I just thought I'd share a photo. We went to the St. Pete Beach area for the weekend to spend time with family, who were visiting from out of state. On this picture, we were enjoying our annual tradition of cocktails at the Don CeSar with my uncle and his partner, Lee. The picture was taken around sunset on a day that was incomparably gorgeous. I think I need to stay at Don CeSar someday.

5 reasons I love my husband

2009-05-29T14:54:00.003-04:00

So since I'm lacking inspiration to come up with my own ideas today, I'm stealing an idea from the Moms at Work blog at our local newspaper. Today, Lisa, one of the bloggers, wrote about five reasons her husband is a keeper. I loved the idea...so here is my list:

1. He is a very loving and involved dad. He is willing to sit on the floor and play with Myles' cars for as long as he wants, or just while I go out for a run or take a few minutes for myself. He also watches Myles every other Thursday night so that I can go out with my friends.

2. He never (and I mean never) gives up. If something needs to be fixed, or if he needs to find an answer to something, he will not sleep until the task is accomplished.

3. He works really hard and often sacrifices his own wants for our family. I know he isn't a natural nine-to-fiver, but he gets up day after day and works his butt off so that we can have financial security. Meanwhile, I'm sure he'd love to live on a beach in Costa Rica.

4. He fills in where I am lacking. I struggle with patience and perseverence. Billy is extremely good in these two areas and helps reel me in when he needs to.

5. He has been there for me through thick and thin. Let me tell you, Billy and I have been through a tremendous amount of pain together. We have suffered losses together and we have grieved together. And through it all, I've learned that I have a man who loves me more than I ever knew I was loved.

I wrote earlier this month about suffering a loss, something I couldn't talk about at that time. That loss, which happened on April 27, 2009, was the miscarriage of a 7-week baby. And as I laid in that hospital bed, in severe physical and emotional agony, Billy stood with me. He cried with me. He comforted me. And he, along with God, was the strength I needed to get through it. Really, what more could any woman want from her husband?

Long weekends can be tough

2009-05-25T08:34:00.004-04:00

I think every working mom looks forward tremendously to long holiday weekends. I know I do, especially Memorial Day, when I haven't enjoyed a holiday since New Year's!

But this weekend has been a little tough, as things have fallen through and the weather has been bad, leaving us scrambling to keep a 3 year-old entertained. Saturday we had plans to meet my parents and sister at their resort near Disney for the day. It was my sister's birthday and we were going to celebrate. Well, Florida has had nonstop rain since Monday and by 10am Saturday morning, it was storming and there were no signs it was letting up. We ended up at the T-Rex restaurant at Downtown Disney and even had enough of a rain stoppage to walk around a bit.

We had hoped to go to the resort on Sunday with two other families. Those plans fell through. Then we thought we'd go buy a Science Center membership Sunday, but we ended up just not feeling like it. So we watched TV, Billy ended up taking Myles roller skating (his first time) for a couple of hours while I took a nap, and we went to the PM church service. The day was mostly a bust.

This morning, we are finally getting out to the resort. And since Billy is adamant about seeing other people (other than my family) on the weekends, he convinced his brother to meet us out there with his family. We definitely don't see them enough so I'm glad it worked out. It should be a fun day, as long as the rain holds out.

But the weekend itself did not shape out how we originally planned it. And it has been stressful trying to make things happen at the last minute when everyone seems to already have plans. I'll have to do a better job for 4th of July!

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T21:36:00.003-04:00

This had to have been one of my best Mother's Days ever! First of all, I am so blessed to have such an amazing and sweet child. It is a true honor to have been chosen as his mom and I only hope I can do a great job and help him reach his true potential. Secondly, I have a wonderful husband who I too often take for granted. He works very hard and is always there for me when I need him, through good times and bad.

With that said, we had a great Mother's Day. We spent it in Ocala with my parents, my brother and his wife and my sister. We spent some time swimming at my parents' house, then at my mom's request, we all went to see a show called Symphony Under the Stars. The show featured an outdoor orchestra playing medleys from several decades and across many genres. The music was nice and once the sun was mostly down, the weather was gorgeous. We all laid on a blanket and hung out as a family. A fireworks show concluded the event and Myles, of course, was in awe.

I am so blessed to be a mom. I should spend more time saying that. Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful moms reading this post. Hope yours was special too!

100th post

2009-05-08T22:48:00.004-04:00

I guess I'm supposed to write 100 things about myself. Gosh...not even sure where to start. Or if anyone really cares. But I'll do it anyway...please leave a comment if you do get through these!

1. I am a born again Christian.
2. I will celebrate my 10-year wedding anniversary in September '09.
3. I did not have a "real" wedding...we just did it.
4. I really believe I'm married to my soul mate, although Billy and I are complete opposites.
5. I received a Bachelor's degree 10 years ago in Advertising/PR.
6. I currently work in internal communication.
7. I've never been at a job for more than 2 years and 2 months.
8. I tried being a SAHM and it wasn't for me.
9. My dream job was to be the PR director for an NHL hockey team.
10. I am a huge hockey fan, after growing up watching the sport with my dad.
11. I am the oldest of 3 children.
12. I fit perfectly into the "oldest child" stereotype.
13. I have one brother and one sister.
14. I am proud mom to Myles, my beautiful three year-old.
15. I've been pregnant 3 times.
16. I've finally made up my mind that I'd like one more child...hoping for 2010!
17. I have no preference whether I have a boy or a girl.
18. I think being a mom is the hardest job in the world (really).
19. I volunteer in my church every other week teaching 4 year-olds.
20. I don't get to church nearly enough to actually hear the sermon.
21. I never feel like there are enough hours in the day.
22. Most people think I'm organized, but I usually feel disorganized.
23. I wish I lived in a slightly bigger house (like, one extra bedroom).
24. My house always has work to be finished and it drives me crazy.
25. I took up running about a year and a half ago.
26. Running is the first real hobby I've had.
27. I ran my first 5k in April 2008 and my first 10k in March 2009.
28. My goal is to do another 10k in October '09 and actually get a descent time.
29. Some day, I'd love to run a half-marathon.
30. I always feel like I need to lose 5-10 pounds.
31. At 32, I'm in the best shape of my life (but I could still stand to lose five!).
32. I dress fairly conservatively.
33. If I had the money, I'd be much, much trendier in dress!
34. I am extremely frugal and keep a very detailed budget.
35. I was born in Texas and currently live in Florida.
36. I am not a fan of Florida, mostly because of the weather.
37. If I could live anywhere, it would be the Pacific NW.
38. One of my dreams is to have a home in the NW to live in during the summer and a home down south for the winter.
39. Another huge goal is to visit all 50 U.S. states.
40. Currently, I've been to 28 states and counting.
41. I am terrified of flying.
42. I have only been to one foreign country...Canada.
43. For our 10-year anniversary this year, I'd love to go to Peru. I need to get over the flying fear first though.
44. For a long time, I did not want kids.
45. I feel very disconnected at times with my childless friends.
46. I actually have very few friends.
47. I am blessed with a group of women in my neighborhood who have become like a second family to me.
48. I hate to read.
49. I love doing SuDoku puzzles.
50. I change my hair color about once per year. It's currently brown.
51. In high school, my nickname was Barbie (I looked very different).
52. I competed in beauty pageants in high school and early college.
53. I played the piano for over 10 years.
54. I've forgotten almost all I once knew in piano.
55. I don't watch much TV but am currently into The Tudors.
56. My favorite show is Mad Men, and I can't wait for Season 3!
57. I think I have a dry sense of humor.
58. I am a very good writer.
59. I am an average public speaker.
60. I am very insecure about my looks and body.
61. I am an extreme introvert.
62. Driving stresses me out.
63. One of my pet peeves is people not using turn signals when driving!!!
64. I have never been inside a limousine.
65. I have never eaten fish (nor will I ever!).
66. I used to have a serious jealousy problem but was relieved of it by God's grace.
67. I love going to the theatre.
68. I hate hearing live bands so never go to concerts.
69. I require at least 7.5 hours of sleep to be productive.
70. I am a proud political conservative.
71. I'm one of the few who will actually admit that I like Sarah Palin.
72. My career aspirations are much lower than they were 5 years ago.
73. My biggest goal is to be a fantastic wife and mother.
74. I love the spa but am too cheap to ever go. It's my Mother's Day request. :)
75. I do indulge in a 30-min. massage each month, given by massage therapists that come to my workplace for $1/minute.
76. I am beyond addicted to Diet Coke.
77. I am even more addicted to chocolate.
78. I could eat Mexican food every night of the week.
79. I currently have two pets.
80. These are the last pets I plan to have.
81. I'm thinking of training to compete in a triathlon before I'm 35.
82. My favorite music is from the 80s.
83. My favorite movies are Bridget Jones's Diary and The Devil Wears Prada.
84. My favorite holiday is Christmas.
85. My favorite season is winter.
86. My least favorite season is summer.
87. I do not enjoy the beach.
88. I love the mountains and the cool air.
89. My parents are both alive and I feel I have a very good relationship with them.
90. I wish we saw more of my in-laws.
91. I currently have 2 nephews and a niece and will have a nephew born in July and another niece or nephew in November.
92. I plan to sleep in on Mother's Day. It's what I look forward to the most!
93. I love burning candles throughout my house.
94. I have a hard time sitting still.
95. I very much admire my boss and will admit she's the #1 reason I am still at my current job.
96. I wish my company would offer a 4-day workweek of 10-hour days.
97. I'm very content with my life.
98. But I'm always striving to "tweak" things.
99. I've been through a lot in life but always come through it. It's only been by God's grace.
100. I greatly appreciate you if you have made it this far! :)

There you have it!

Mother's Day Tea

2009-05-08T22:38:00.005-04:00

Today, I attended a wonderful Mother's Day Tea at Myles' day care. Take a look at the short video below. He is the boy in the gray shirt who is laughing hysterically, then jumping up and down (with the M on his shirt). It's moments like these that make being a mom so wonderful!

Being a mom when you're sad

2009-05-07T11:42:00.002-04:00

Last week, I lost someone who I loved. I am not ready to blog about it right now, as the wound is too fresh and too painful. But the whole experience took a part of me that I fear I'll never get back. It left me incredibly sad and hurting.

Through it all, I tried to maintain my composure and continue being the mom Myles needed me to be. That proved to be very difficult. I was able to take a few days off work - and I sent Myles to day care each day so that I could handle my emotions. But even after having the days to myself, I struggled with keeping up my energy level at night and having the pep that is so needed when spending time with Myles.

Even today, over a week after the loss, I'm not myself. Yes, things have greatly improved...I've been back to work all week and trying to carry on my life. And I guess it's helped that we've been so busy with swim lessons and planning for summer vacation. But I'm not myself. I know it and Myles knows it.

How do you cope with your parenting duties when you are hurting emotionally? Do you just go day-by-day and figure it out, as I've been doing? It seems I'm just going through the motions, including being a parent. I'm at a loss and simply hoping that emotional healing will come soon.

Crazy days

2009-05-05T16:14:00.002-04:00

We have a ridiculously busy month ahead! Myles started swimming lessons yesterday, which he'll go to every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday for the next four weeks. After just one day of it, I'm already exhausted. I have to leave my office at 5:00 sharp to pick him up. We then truck to another part of town that there is absolutely no easy way to get to (translation: 40 min. in the car). Once we arrive, I quickly get him into his swim trunks, he gets in the pool at 6:00 for his 15-min. lesson and we get back in the car for the 20-min. ride home. Last night, we didn't arrive home until nearly 7:00 and dinner was not even started!!

I need to come up with a plan for managing this. Tonight, we're picking up pizza. But I can't do that three times a week!! I'm thinking I'll cook extra on Sunday night so that we have leftovers for Monday. But that doesn't help with Thursdays. Plus, by 7:00, Myles is ready to eat NOW. And I still need to get in my run, which is almost daily now since it's too hot here to do more than 2 miles at a time.

I'm tired just thinking about it. I need a run...and maybe some wine!

Empty-headed lately

2009-04-24T10:01:00.002-04:00

I haven't had too much to say this week when it comes to being a parent. This is probably because I don't think I've been a very good one the past several days. We have been tossed head first into the throes of the Terrible Threes and I am L-O-S-T. My sweet, curious, entertaining boy has turned quickly into a defiant, button-pushing, not so innocent person that I feel I hardly know. No matter what we ask him to do, the answer is no. Likewise, anytime we need him to get moving on something, we are ignored. And the only thing that he will respond to at all is either sternly saying "You're not listening" or calling him Lampie, who is the bad boy on Pinocchio that turns into a donkey. He hates being called Lampie.

I am exhausted! My child has moments where I stare in awe...and not in a good way. His temper tantrums are back, including hitting himself, screaming, slamming doors and doing whatever else he can to take out his frustration and/or get attention. When does he turn four???

Working moms and taking time

2009-04-16T13:52:00.002-04:00

I have been guilty in the past of taking zero time for myself, especially during motherhood. As working moms, we often have a lot of guilt about the amount of time we spend away from our kids. How could we ever take even more time away from what little we already have with our kids? I subscribed to that guilt for about 2 years of Myles' life. Now, on the other side, I feel much different about it.

First of all, let me be clear: spending time with Myles is my biggest priority. With that said, I want the time I spend with him to be good, quality time...during which everyone is happy, fulfilled and fully engaged. I have found great happiness and fulfillment in taking a few extra hours each week for me.

Working is NOT time for me. Face it, most of us working moms are doing it, at least in part because we have to. Some of us to get some enjoyment out of spending time with other adults and thinking about things other than kids, but it still doesn't suffice as being real time for us. And we don't set the hours either. I don't know a mom (even one who loves what she does) who wouldn't prefer to work less hours. It simply isn't an option for most of us.

I spend most of my "me" time either working out or with friends. I run about 3 times a week at a total of about 90 minutes. I go out with friends every other Thursday for another 3 hours. I have a monthly date weekend with my husband and Myles stays with my parents for a couple of nights. And I try to squeeze in errands and a little shopping during lunch breaks at work.

It really isn't a lot of time, but it gives me just enough to recharge and treat myself well. It has also done wonders for my marriage and helped me build a good support network, which anyone could use! When we are together, just me and Myles or as a threesome, we make it special.

Motherhood - especially when you are working - is a balancing act. Taking time for oneself, in my opinion, helps you balance everything else with a sharper mind and calmer spirit.

Movin' on up!

2009-04-14T16:29:00.002-04:00

I had a note in my box yesterday that Myles is being "promoted" to the three year-old classroom! The big holdup was his potty training...they even moved two kids younger than him up in January! But now that we're over that hump and he is no longer having accidents (and going on his own without being asked), he's officially ready!

April 27 is the big day for him and I know it will be hard. Once we got past our issues in December (see old blog posts), things really looked up and Myles has become very close with his teachers. They told me yesterday they H-A-T-E to see him go. From what I gather, he does a good job of entertaining the young ones in the class (who have just turned 2) and they also say he comforts all of the kids when they are sad or hurt.

For me though, this is a good thing. Although the teachers have been great, I'm ready for Myles to be more challenged and I think being with older kids will be good for him. The curriculum in the twos class is written for twos. For several months now, Myles has shown signs of boredom. He will now learn new skills and once again be one of the youngest in the class, meaning he'll learn from his peers.

My big boy is really all grown up!

Mean words

2009-04-08T16:32:00.003-04:00

Myles has been obsessed lately with the word "stupid." He tried saying it at school a few weeks back and was told by a teacher that it is not a nice word and that he shouldn't ever say it to someone. Well, that was enough to pique his interest and he's been nonstop ever since. We wondered where he heard it and finally realized it was on the movie Pinocchio. Every time he hears it, his ears perk up and he immediately gets wide-eyed. "That man said stupid, mommy," he'll remark. "That's not nice...no, no!"

It's actually really hilarious. Of course, I have to keep a straight face when he scolds the character on TV because he is oh-so-serious when he does. But it is funny that he's become so obsessed.

He also tells me daily about a classmate, who apparently says the word stupid every day. "T. said stupid, mommy!" Of course, I have to ask him what Ms. Monique said. And it's the same every day..."No no, T. Don't you say stupid, T."

I never thought I'd be so amused and interested by such conversations. But I am. And I have them every single day. This is the life of the mom of a 3 year-old.

Friday Five - 5 ways to have fun this weekend

2009-04-03T15:02:00.003-04:00

It's the weekend again! But I don't know how it is that the weeks seem to get longer while the weekends seem to get shorter. Ugh. Here are five ways to have fun with your child over the weekend, some of which may make the weekend actually feel longer. And of course, as is the norm with me, most of these things are free or very low cost.

1. Go to a local park. This is a staple of our weekend. We love visiting new (and tested/approved) parks to help Myles get out his energy with some monkey bars, climbing walls, swings and slides. And the weather is good for it this time of year!

2. Go for a long walk. OK, so I'd have to throw some running in there. But if you're not a runner and you want some exercise, take your child out for a walk in the evening, before the sun sets but after the temperature has started to cool. If you're not a walker either, try a bike ride.

3. Get some ice cream. After this, you may want that walk. We love to take Myles to McDonalds, Brewsters or Cold Stone for a sweet treat, especially when he's been a good boy.

4. Pitch a tent in your back yard. Myles has a shark tent that we got him for Christmas, that is currently taking up about a quarter of his playroom. He LOVES being in the tent, yet we've never taken it outside, where it is supposed to be! Task #1 is getting Billy to mow the ridiculously long weeds that have taken over our back yard. Then we can pitch the tent and spend time looking at the stars.

5. Go swimming. We may hit the beach this weekend. I'm not totally bikini ready but it's supposed to be hot here until Monday (when it dips back into *gasp* the 70s) so maybe a beach day would be nice. If not the beach, we can always hit my parents' resort, which is about 45 min. away and boasts amazing pools and probably isn't too busy at this time of year. Don't forget to pack a picnic lunch.

What do you like to do with your kids to make the weekend memorable and fun?

The trouble with Mondays

2009-03-30T14:41:00.003-04:00

Another Monday has come and my motivation is low. I often think of how nice it would be to have Mondays off. Of course, that would make Tuesday tougher, but I could handle it, knowing there were only four days to work.

My entire family seems to have issues with Mondays. For Billy and me, no explanation is really needed. We're returning to work. But even Myles seems to feel it. On Monday mornings, I have to practically drag him out of bed. He always wants an extra five, or 15 minutes of sleep. He isn't dripping with excitement about returning to school.

For me, Mondays are also awkward, as I struggle to get back into the work routine. I don't really become productive most weeks until Tuesday. Many of my co-workers are in the lobby outside my office chatting it up about vacations right now. Not a very productive day for them either.

The bottom line is Monday represents the farthest distance from the start of the weekend. It's like being on Mile 1 of a 5-mile run. It sucks, but you endure it, knowing you will eventually get to five. I'm counting the hours this week.

Off the beaten path

2009-03-29T22:15:00.005-04:00

We took a step back to the quieter side of life this weekend (at least for a couple of hours) and visited a pick-your-own strawberry farm. I'd heard from a co-worker that it was a neat thing to do and with strawberry season winding down, this felt like a good weekend to try it!

We were fortunate that they were having a Family Fun Day, which included a free bounce house and free cotton candy in addition to their everyday favorites - a hay ride, zip line and playground. We spent some time choosing just the right berries, then went into the country store and got some homemade strawberry shortcake (to die for) and a strawberry milkshake.

Myles spent lots of time bouncing, swinging, sliding and LOVED the zip line, which he surprisingly needed NO assistance on! We also took the hay ride, which went around the farm, including to the back of the farm, where they grow Christmas trees for the fall/early winter. Ahh, that seems so far off!

After the fun farm day and TWO great birthday parties this weekend, we are pooped. But the weekends don't get much better!

Terrible threes?

2009-03-27T10:17:00.002-04:00

I can't believe it's been over a week since I posted...not sure where that time went! So we've entered what many moms have told me are the terrible threes. I must admit I've been a little nervous about this stage. The twos were so stinking easy...I figured all these people couldn't be wrong. They certainly weren't wrong about the dreaded 18 month stage!

Well, I think I'm starting to see what they mean! He's been three for two weeks and like a light switch, he is Mr. Sensitive. If I'm mad at him, he becomes hysterical and runs to daddy, whining and crying all the way, "Mommy yelled at me!" This is the reaction I get even when I do not raise my voice, but am simply stern with him. And by the way, I only raise my voice when he's screaming so loudly that it's the only way I'm heard.

He is also now wanting to do EVERYTHING by himself. This is good and bad. Yes, I want my child to be independent and capable. But sometimes he really can't do something without help. At that point, he throws himself on the floor screaming. When I then try to help him and teach him how to do whatever it is he thought he could do, he throws an even bigger fit. Not being one who will tolerate a tantrum, I then look him in the eye and sternly say, "Myles!" And he then cries to daddy that I've yelled at him and the cycle starts all over again!

Yes, I'm in for it. I can feel it. Time to take a deep breath, brush up on my patience skills and add another night to my workout routine!

The weekend...Disney, a 10k and more!

2009-03-15T22:43:00.004-04:00

I had a 3-day weekend from work to celebrate my big boy's third birthday. Myles turned 3 on Friday the 13th and we took advantage of the free admission on your birthday promotion at Walt Disney World. What fun we had!

Myles has been to Disney about 4-5 times. This time, he showed his first interest in meeting the characters. He met Mickey, Minnie, Ariel, Peter Pan and Captain Hook. He saw about a dozen others in the parade and the show they have at the Castle.

Of course, we rode as many rides as we could (including Big Thunder Mountain, which he is FINALLY talk enough to ride), but the lines were long and the temperature was hot at around 85 degrees. We ended the 10-hour day at the park by spending time in Ariel's Grotto, where kids run around in a soft play area with water shooting out of the ground. It was a perfect ending to a perfect birthday for Myles.

When he fell asleep on the ride home, I wished him one last happy birthday and cried at how much deeper my love grows for him with each passing birthday.

Also this weekend, I completed my first official 10k Saturday morning. The long day at Disney and my lingering sickness did not help me turn in a stellar time, but I finished in 69 min. 6 sec., which is certainly acceptable considering the limitations I was dealing with. I did have to do some walking...approximately a half mile, but I'm proud I finished and can't wait to score a better time (like under 65 min.) next time around! Here's a link to a photo of me coming up to the finish line at 6.2 miles.

No more diapers!

2009-03-11T12:18:00.002-04:00

After my sad sounding post yesterday, Myles informed me this morning he is NOT wearing a diaper to school. So I sent him off to daycare wearing his big boy underwear (with 2 spares) for the very first time. I expect accidents for at least a week but regardless...my baby is officially a BIG BOY! I'm going to need some extra snuggling with him tonight; who knows, I may wake up to find a teenager in the morning!

Joking aside, I'm so proud of my big boy. He's growing up so fast and amazes me daily with his wit and his insight. I have no idea how I created such an amazing person but I couldn't be more proud to be his mommy.

My baby is turning 3

2009-03-10T15:15:00.005-04:00

This Friday, Myles will be a big 3 year-old! I can't believe it! It doesn't seem so long ago that I was anxiously wondering just what day he'd make his debut. I really have vivid memories of holding my sweet baby as he finished a bottle and drifted off to sleep. I remember the excitement that came with feeding him his first solids. I remember helping him as he learned to walk, talk and think for himself.

Now, there is no holding him and rocking him to sleep. There is no feeding him since he can feed himself...and insists on it. The only "baby" really left are the diapers and we've bought our last package. The daycare expects he'll be fully potty trained for daytime by the end of the month.

What happened to my baby? I ask him this often and he always laughs and gives me one of his many funny faces. At least I still hear "I love you, mommy." I'm sure that will go the way of rocking, feeding and diapers before I know it.

Here's a photo of my big boy from Saturday's birthday party. Below that are pictures from #2 and #1. Somehow, it makes me want to cry.

Good reading

2009-03-03T13:08:00.003-05:00

Every day, one of my first stops is to the Moms At Work blog, which is written by some editorial staff members at The Orlando Sentinel. I am acquainted with a few of the bloggers and the content is always varied, honest and sometimes funny. Since I find it such a good read, I thought I'd share it with the other working moms who read this blog. Check it out!

Gatorland...good, but mobbed

2009-03-02T14:54:00.005-05:00

Billy and I took Myles to Gatorland Saturday, a place we've talked about going for a year but never got around to until we heard about their Florida Resident special that included $9.99 tickets. Since Myles is still technically under 3 (meaning he's free) and tickets are usually over $20 each, we decided it was now or never.

We hyped up the trip to Myles the entire week, leaving his teachers telling me all about how excited he was as he talked about it day after day. And then...at 10:45 a.m. Saturday, we arrived.

"Sorry folks, we're out of parking," we were told by the less than friendly parking attendant. "You'll have to park across the street in the pizza shop's lot."

WHAT?!? Full? We're talking about Gatorland here!

Then we saw the line literally wrapped around the building. And the cops directing traffic. "Sorry Myles, they are closed," I lied. I am NOT one for crowds and there was no way I was battling all of these people...for Gatorland none the less. But when Myles started whining and almost broke into all-out tears, we caved. After all, he'd been looking forward to this for a week and if we didn't go that day, we knew we'd probably never go. This was his day.

In the end, I'm glad we went. The park was actually a lot nicer than I expected. It blew away the pathetic Dinosaur World. It even beat out the Central Florida Zoo. We saw hundreds of gators, including four rare albinos. We visited the petting area and looked at the snakes. We watched the Gator Jumparoo show (craning our necks around the people in front of us) and the Gator Wrestling show. We had a nice day.

My only issue was, of course, the crowds. Gatorland is not built for that many people. Every show was standing room only, you had to wait in line to take pictures with the gator (see above), and the train (which we bought the wristband for) featured long 45-minute waits all day. We never rode it. Even food was hard to come by and we ended up having to walk across the street to a local Cuban place around 1:15 for nourishment.

I definitely recommend going but it isn't worth more than the $9.99 price. Maybe when their attendance drops (which I assume it did March 1), they'll offer the special again. If they do, just be sure to go during the week! And you may want to pack a lunch.

Top priority

2009-02-26T21:56:00.003-05:00

I read an article today in which several psychologists were asked what they believe to be the single most important parenting role. Two of the psychologists basically answered with just "being" with your child.

Of course, other important roles were mentioned (or implied) by everyone...providing boundaries, showing unconditional love, and knowing what makes your individual child tick. But just "being there" is something that really stood out to me.

I've always believed in the importance of being there for Myles. With that said, I think if you're going to "be there," you have to be in the right mindset. This is a huge reason I returned to work. Being there 24/7 was mentally and physically demanding enough that I wasn't the person I really wanted to be with him much of the time.

So I wondered...is it better to spend 80 hours per week with him, 25 of which are probably great, 30 of which are so-so and 25 of which are difficult due to my attitude, exhaustion or feeling like I'm neglecting my own needs? Or is it better to spend 40 hours with him, over a much more spread out time period, with 30 of those hours great, 5 so-so, and another 5 not so good? It's obvious what we decided was best for our family.

I really don't look back. Aside from having some of the typical working mom guilt that society often places on us, I know this is best for Myles, me and Billy. I am so excited to spend time with Myles most nights. We plan really fun things every weekend. We make the most of our time together.

But I digress...I've already talked about this in previous blogs. The topic at hand is "being there." How exactly is one to "be there"?

For me...tonight, at least, I made sure to spend plenty of time focusing on nothing but him. Listening to him. Really hanging on some of his words. Making him feel important.

We didn't do anything overly special. We spent a little time coloring, we read a couple of books, we took a bath together and recited some favorite lines from songs.

But it was really nice. We connected through laughter, eye contact, and being the center of each other's world...just for those precious moments. I hope I was successful in "being there" for Myles tonight.

Photo tag

2009-02-21T18:21:00.003-05:00

Mel at The Bubble tagged me to play this fun game...so here goes!

***Rules***
1. Go to your Picture Folder on your computer or wherever you store your pictures.
2. Go to the 6th Folder and then pick the 6th Picture.
3. Post it on your blog and tell the story that goes with the picture.
4. Tag 5 other glorious peoples to do the same thing and leave a comment on their blog telling them about it.

Well, I only have 5 picture folders on this computer so I'm choosing the 6th photo in the 5th and last folder.

This is a photo of my family...taken New Year's Day at Gaylord Palms' ICE exhibit. Obviously, we are sitting on a giant ice Santa's "lap." This was a really fun time...Myles LOVED the exhibit and went down the kiddie ice slide about 10 times before we all thought our hands were going to fall off from the cold. (It is 9 degrees inside ICE; very cold for Floridians!)

I don't think I have 6 people to tag, as I see that Jennifer has already done this tag. Here are a few though:

Pam at PTO Mom
Debby at L&J Updates
Katy at Another Mommie Blog
Jaime at Toodlepoop
Renay at Working Moms Make It Work

Thanks Mel...this was fun! (and I'm glad I got a descent picture and not something embarrassing!)

Is it...or isn't it?

2009-02-18T16:13:00.002-05:00

Myles has been going through this phase of saying the direct opposite of what he means. We'll be driving along and he'll blurt out, "That's not a BMW." Directly in front of us sits a BMW and he's staring at it.

A VW will pull up next to us. He'll turn to it and nonchalantly say, "That's not a Volkswagen."

It's driving me nuts! First, I would respond by saying, "Yes it is, Myles. You know what that car is."

Now, I've resorted to saying something crazy in response. So when he says, "That's not a big truck," I will respond with, "No, it's a jet!" He waits a few seconds, then responds with, "That's not a jet! It's a big truck!" Well...why didn't you just say so?

He doesn't just do it with cars either. I'll ask him if he had fun at Chick Fil-A (where we were for Musical Suppertime last night). He'll respond with a great big "No." My answer: "OK, we won't go back then." And of course, he freaks out saying he wants to go back...soon! When I confront him about saying just 10 seconds ago that he didn't have fun, he corrects himself and says "I had fun, mommy."

What he heck is going on? Can anyone relate or provide advice?

Myles's first wedding

2009-02-15T22:40:00.004-05:00

My brother wed his longtime girlfriend on Valentine's Day. It was Myles's first wedding and fortunately, it was a casual one! The wedding took place at my parents' house in Ocala and only family and a few of the couple's very close friends were in attendance. There was no real agenda for the wedding, other than them saying their "I do" vows.

Myles was his usual, entertaining self. The highlight of his day was definitely eating a piece of wedding cake. I'm thrilled to have a new sister and thankful that we were able to share in this special day. Below are a couple of photos from the day.

Myles...doing what he does...leading up to the wedding

My family and the new bride and groom

Thinking about the day of love

2009-02-10T17:00:00.002-05:00

My husband and I have never been big on Valentine's Day. Being a very frugal twosome, we've always viewed it as a reason to unnecessarily spend money and wait way too long for a dinner out that we could have enjoyed even more a day before with no crowds.

We also don't believe people should need a certain day of the year just to show each other they're still in love. Rather, it should be spontaneous...like a nice text message, a box of chocolates in June, or just an unexpected embrace accompanied by an I love you. We've always tried to integrate little things like that into our 10-year marriage and we feel it's helped us make it to where we are.

Now, with that said, Valentine's Day takes on a whole new meaning for me when it comes to Myles. While I love to spontaneously surprise Myles with candy, a new Matchbox car, or a night out for ice cream, I do want to recognize him on Valentine's Day. After all, the daycare has already been promoting the day and has already sent home a list of kids in the class, just in case we want to give out valentines. It sounds fun enough...I'll let him pick out the cards for his friends and we'll spend time together putting a chocolate heart in each envelope.

But back to mommy and son. The question is...how should I celebrate with my special little love? My first thought is to simply buy him a chocolate heart and wish him a happy valentine's day. But I wonder if anyone has any better, more creative ideas. Do you treat your kid(s) on Valentine's Day? If so, what do you do for them?

Weekend overview...the good, the bad.

2009-02-09T11:14:00.003-05:00

Monday has once again arrived and I'm taking an early lunch break to do some blogging. I often wish I could only work 4 days each week...but for now, I need to be glad I have a job! I could sure use it though after a pretty busy weekend.

We were on the go Saturday! We started with an outdoor photo shoot, which I won the bidding for at the daycare's Christmas silent auction. The photographer was great...his assistant was awesome! She too is a mom of a little boy and knew exactly how to get Myles to act his best. We were out of there in about 25 minutes with NO meltdowns or incidents! Myles was fabulous!

From there, we took advantage of free tickets I'd acquired to the Orlando Science Center through the local ArtsFest, which is happening through Feb. 15. We were given complete access to the place, including IMAX tickets. We spent 4 hours at OSC, including seeing an IMAX about sea monsters. I was ready to drop of exaustion, but it was worth every minute.

We all took a LONG nap (until 6:15!!!) and spent the evening watching Peter Pan, playing with cars and just being a family. With the late nap, Myles was up until almost 11:30 p.m. Ouch!

Sunday morning began with church, where I volunteer every other week teaching 4-year olds. Myles loves his class, The Butterflies and today was very special. You see, I teach the same lesson to my class that he hears in his class. I, therefore, know what to talk to him about to stimulate his memory of the lesson. On our ride home, I asked Myles if he learned about Saul. "Yes," he replied. "Saul was mean...he was mean to Jesus!" I was so proud...the lessons are starting to sink in.

We did our weekly grocery shopping and Myles was amazing. I let him pick out a new car in Super Wal Mart. He wanted a Chrysler 300 with huge rims...hmmmm. Not exactly me or daddy's favorite, but he is his own boy!

We then went to a fun church picnic that they have each year for the volunteers. It was at our favorite park (the site of next month's birthday party) and included about 2 hours of all out play time! The day was perfect...about 75 degrees after a week of very cold temps.

To end the weekend, Mommy decided to go out for the week's "long run." Well, if you are guessing right now that I finally ran 6.2 miles (a 10k...and my goal for 2009), you would be RIGHT! I ran it in one hour, 7 minutes and am paying dearly today with two legs that feel like jello. Ah, the price we pay to stay in shape. I wondered afterward if I was out of my mind.

Have a great week, everyone!

We can do anything!

2009-02-04T15:52:00.008-05:00

I am on a new kick these days. After seeing myself accomplish things recently that I never thought possible, I'm starting to believe I (and all humans) really can do anything we put our minds to.

Example #1: running. Two years ago, I remember feeling frustrated about my post baby body. It had been nearly a year since I gave birth and I felt completely out of shape and unattractive. I tried running. I quit. My husband pushed me, telling me I COULD run a mile and I told him to butt out. After all, I knew my body better than he did, right? The weight stayed on. I remained out of shape.

I tried it again and finally got to a mile...in about 13 minutes. He encouraged me but was less than impressed, saying I could do a 10-minute mile if I put my mind to it. I was furious and again told him to leave me alone and let me do my own personal best. Again, I quit. It was too hard. I convinced myself I really never could run a mile...that one was a fluke.

Fast forward two years. As you know if you've read this blog much, I can run a mile. But guess what? I have run four 5Ks, with a best time of 31:18 (9:59 mile!). And guess what else? I am running my first TEN-K next month. That's 6.2 MILES! And today, I am 100% convinced I can and will do it. After all, I'm pushing FIVE miles on my own (4.65 last night) and still have over a month to add the last 1.2.

Running is the first thing I've done completely on my own and on my own terms. No one in my family has ever been a runner. And while I truly never felt I'd ever, ever run a mile, I now have my sights set on a half marathon in 2010!

What's more...while I'm not as thin as I was pre-baby, I have more muscle than I've EVER had, I went from hating my butt and legs to thinking they are pretty sexy and strong, and I'm truly in the BEST shape of my life.

Example #2...graphic design. Anyone who has worked with me professionally knows I love talking about how I'm NOT a designer. "I can write, but I'm not a designer," has come out of my mouth at least 1,000 times over my 10-year career. I've even refused to apply for jobs that sounded perfect for me...except that they wanted someone with basic knowledge of Photoshop. "Nope, not for me!"

Well, after a co-worker was laid off about a year ago, I was thrust into the role of HAVING to learn basic InDesign and Photoshop to take over a few of her responsibilities. I was more than reluctant and equally annoyed. But who am I to say no when I really need the job? I had no choice.

Today, I am still a novice at InDesign and Photoshop. But guess what? I use both programs on a regular basis with no supervision. I spent a couple of hours today producing some new artwork for our Cafe display. It's not gorgeous, but it gets the job done. And I can speak somewhat intelligently when making requests of real graphic artists. One year ago, I would have told you I'm not a designer. Today, I'll tell you I'm a designer in progress! :)

How does this fit into parenting? Well, I'm guilty of saying I'm not a good mom. "I'm not the mom Myles needs." "I may be ruining him." My poor husband hears me say things like this a lot. And I know it gets old for him.

Today, I'm looking at what I have accomplished this year (on my own) and realizing I can be a good mom! Heck, maybe I already am one! After all, I would give my life for my child and every decision I make is one I feel would benefit him in the end. Yes...I take time for myself. I run 10 miles per week without Myles. I have a girls' night every other Thursday. I go out on a monthly date with my husband. We're planning a vacation sans Myles for our 10-year anniversary this year. But those things bring me happiness. And doesn't a happy mom make for a happier child?

Am I always patient? Gosh, no! But my pastor once told a story of an interview with Billy Graham, who was asked how he could be so patient. His answer? "I have no more patience than anyone else. I just use mine!" I'll never forget that...and I think of it often when I'm ready to lose my cool.

We can all be GREAT parents, even if we think we lack some serious skills (patience for me!). We can do anything we truly set our minds to. Take it from someone who could never run a mile!

A cute get to know you game

2009-02-03T12:17:00.006-05:00

My Blog friend Debby had this new game on her site to help blog buddies get to know each other a little better. Here's the way it's played...If you want to play, leave a comment on this post letting me know, and I’ll assign you a letter.

You write about ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter, and post it at your place. When people comment on your list, you give them a letter, and the chain continues on and on...

Debbie assigned me the letter:"F"

1) Family - from my amazing husband to my fun loving, adorable son, to my parents, siblings and extended family. After losing 3 family members in the past 2 years and seeing my dad battle cancer (he is in remission right now), this one has become much more important to me.

2) Friends - I am blessed to have long-time friends (Susan, Michelle, Julie, Marjie, etc.) and newer friends (Cherrah, Vicki, Katy, etc.). While I don't see some of them as often as I'd like - and some are in different states now - I'm blessed to know each and every one of them.

3) Food - I adore food...especially Mexican and chocolate! Enough said.

4) Fitness - I love to run. If you know me at all, you know this! I'm addicted to it. And after reading #3, I BETTER love it! I'll run my first 10k on March 14...just 2 miles to get to 6.2!

5) Frugality - I am cheap. Again, you know this about me if you know me at all. I watch EVERY SINGLE PENNY we spend. And sadly, I often fail to reward myself for something, just in case I need that money for something else someday.

6) Freedom - I hope our country always remains the land of the free.

7) my Father in heaven and his son, Jesus Christ. I am a proud daughter of Christ and am ever grateful for his sacrifice and patience with me as I learn and grow.

8) Fantasizing about seeing new places. If only I could get over my fear of flying...

9) Fantastic hockey games...these days, they are fewer and fewer. :(

10) Free things to do. Check out ArtsFest in Orlando from Feb. 6-15. This is a perfect example of the many things you can enjoy without breaking the bank.

That was harder than I thought once I got past #5. Thanks Debbie for a great letter!

Again, if you want to play, post a comment and I'll send you a letter.

Again, again!

2009-02-02T13:07:00.002-05:00

I've been hearing these words from Myles since Saturday night, as we left Old Town in Kissimmee shortly before 10pm. Of every place we've been, Old Town is more perfect for Myles than any other. It combines his two favorite things: old cars and rides!

Honestly, I can't believe it took us almost 3 years to make it to this place. I remember it being like a ghost town back in the day...a place nobody really went. But somebody knew what they were doing because that place was wall to wall people and nonstop action. A total of 190 classic cars (older than 1974) were on display (as they are every Saturday night) for all to see. At 8:30, they lined up for their Saturday night cruise down Main Street. Myles could not get enough! Music from the 50s and 60s was blaring (mostly played by a live band) and people were dancing. Myles even danced in the street with a handful of ladies.

Once the parade ended, we walked to the back of the attraction and rode some of the rides. There were probably 10-12 rides, many of which were for kids. My personal favorite was the Tilt-A-Whirl, which we all rode together. Myles loved the kiddie coaster and rode it THREE times. When our tickets were gone, we told him the night was over and we needed to get home. After all, it was 9:45. He screamed, kicked, protested, you name it. When we got into the car, all I heard was "Again, again, again! I wanna go to Old Town again!"

"We will, sweetie. I promise."

Back from my blogging holiday

2009-01-21T10:39:00.004-05:00

Okay, I admit it's been over 3 weeks since I have posted on this blog. Truth is, I've stayed very busy, between returning to work on Jan. 5 with lots to do, celebrating my birthday on the 9th, badly bruising my tailbone on the 12th, continuing to train for my next 5k and upcoming 10k (although taking a week off after the tailbone incident), and carting Myles around to various places and events. It's all been fun. Well, except for the tailbone injury.

Today, I am making an attempt to get back into the swing of blogging by talking about making weeknights fun. This is so much tougher than weekends, after working a full day and needing to cook dinner, give baths, etc. Time is very limited.

For us, we try to devote two of the five weeknights to something fun for Myles. At minimum, we take one night per week. Last night was one of those nights, as we went to see Mr. Richard's monthly free show at a local Chick Fil-A. We hadn't been in about two months to this event and Myles was so thrilled to be there! He spent lots of time dancing, gave two song requests, and spent about a half hour in the indoor playground. It only cost the three of us $15 for the night and we were well fed and smiling from a lighthearted, fun night.

Another weeknight option is local library storytimes. Our local library just stopped offering their nighttime storytime, but I know many libraries still do. It's free and relaxing. Sometimes, we just go and get ice cream at night. Sometimes, we brave Chuck E Cheese, which is always more pleasant on a weeknight than a weekend. When daylight savings begins, we visit local parks at dusk.

There are lots of options and many are very low cost. For my family, it's good to reconnect on Myles' level more than just on the weekends. Even if it means a little later bedtime than normal.

Christmas!!!

2008-12-29T10:22:00.012-05:00

Our family had a wonderful Christmas. I hope yours did too! Here are some photos taken in Ocala on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Myles with my brother and sister

My dad dressed as Santa - getting a cookie from Myles

Myles' new truck and pile of presents

My happy boy on Christmas morning

Opening his first present
You can just see the excitement

More presents

Checking out the truck

The Meeting - results achieved!

2008-12-17T11:01:00.005-05:00

So the meeting yesterday went very well. In the meeting were me, my husband, the associate director and one of Myles's teachers (who has been the source of much grief over the past month). Everyone was very open and honest and we all seem to have the common goal of pursuing Myles' best interests. My husband opened the meeting by asking whether they felt Myles could successfully adjust to their school after so much time with a nanny. They both (without hesitation) said absolutely. We also wanted to get a pulse on how close he is to being "thrown out" of the school. They both seemed shocked we asked and said it's never even been considered.

The teacher reiterated over and over that Myles has progressed leaps and bounds in the past two weeks - in attitude, verbal communication, and social skills. She also insists his aggression has dramatically reduced. She gave several examples of positive interactions she and the other teachers had with Myles this week, one being just an hour before the meeting. This made me happy. She also gave examples of how he's grown.

She told us that they do ASQ assessments on each child periodically throughout the year. Their last assessment of Myles noted that he is developmentally on track or ahead in every area except his social skills. He has never interacted well with other kids, especially in group settings. We all assume this is largely due to spending over two years with me or a nanny. In the past two weeks, the teacher stated his social skills have caught up with his peers. She gave some examples why. I have also noticed he has a strong liking for one of the boys in the class, who he talks about daily and acts very excited to see in the mornings.

They answered all of our questions honestly and were very positive. They gave the impression that they DO care about Myles. The teacher was very honest by stating that of the three teachers in the room, she is the least tolerant and that has proven difficult for Myles. This is why they have him spending more time (such as during breakfast and lunch) with the teacher who is generally assigned to the six youngest children in the class. Her temperament seems to mesh the best with Myles and he responds well to her direction. (I will note she also has the most similar temperament to me, from what I can tell.)

All in all, we are satisfied. There were a couple of minor contradictions in the meeting, but they were not related to important topics. The teacher even went so far to tell me I am "one of our best parents...offering plenty of information and direction to enable us to successfully teach and work with Myles." Apparently some of the parents say very little to the teachers when dropping off and picking up.

The past week-plus, the teacher we've had the issues with (who was the one in the meeting) has been more than nice. She's been much more positive when speaking of Myles and more personable during drop-off and pick-up. Her negativity with him and seemingly constant bad moods were two of my major complaints that led to the meeting. We didn't even have to mention these things. We are hoping this will bring an end to our daycare struggles.

Daycare meeting today

2008-12-16T12:31:00.003-05:00

My husband and I are meeting with the daycare in 30 min. We expect the two of us, the associate director and Myles' teacher (the one who I've had the issues with) in attendance. Things have been better the past week since I scheduled the meeting. I'll provide thoughts and an update later.

5k weekend

2008-12-15T16:47:00.005-05:00

I ran my first 5k in over 6 months last weekend! I was so proud to finish...and in a pretty descent time - just under 34 min. Given this success, I embark this week on an 8-week program that will enable me to run a 10k. Just writing that gives me goosebumps. I never, ever imagined I'd run a mile, let alone 3...or 6! But these days, I can't imagine life without running. I feel so great after a good 2- or 3-mile run. It's indescribable.

So what made this weekend's 5k event the most memorable and special is that Myles participated in his first kids' race. I want him to get into running because I recognize the health benefits (and because I love it). But there's no pushing involved...the boy LOVES to run!

He did a wonderful job, participating in a 100-meter dash with about 40-50 other kids, all ages 3 and under. I was anxiously trying to capture a photo so I wasn't paying complete attention to where he finished, but from what I did see, he finished somewhere around 5th! He did GREAT and I was incredibly proud. Above is a photo taken after both of us had successfully run our races. I have a feeling there will be more of these to come!

By the way, I have not reported on my weight loss for a couple of weeks. I am currently at 146.0 so have not lost any more weight. However, I feel great and am fairly confident I'm building muscle due to all of the running I've been doing (about 8-10 miles per week). I'm feeling a slight difference in my clothes, especially in the butt area (YES!) so as long as I continue to see improvements to the way I look and feel, I'm content with whatever weight I'm at. More to come on that at a later date.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-10T12:43:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas!

Vacation dreams

2008-12-09T12:56:00.002-05:00

I have to stop talking about the daycare situation or I'm going to be sick. I have a message in to the director requesting a meeting. I haven't heard back yet but expect to have something scheduled by end of day.

I thought for this post I'd talk about vacationing with children. Billy and I used to choose our vacation destinations based on where we could find the hottest art scenes and where we could best experience God's glorious creation through outdoor activities. Not now. These days, it's all about which cities offer the best scene for kids...toddlers, to be exact.

Around Labor Day, we took a trip to Atlanta. We were able to stay with my good friend Julie (making the trip affordable) and found loads of great places to take Myles. It was perfect. So we're thinking now about next year. I found a great site operated by Disney, which gives detailed information about family-friendly cities, as well as tips on where to go if you visit and even where to stay and eat. We used it when planning our Atlanta trip and it did not steer me wrong.

As for next year, a lot will depend on the economic conditions and whether we can afford to travel. Also, we celebrate our 10-year wedding anniversary next September and were hoping to take a trip to Europe, just the two of us.

Do you have any favorite places to visit with your kids? I'd love to hear suggestions!

Daycare situation comes to a head

2008-12-08T11:08:00.002-05:00

Well, I have finally "had it" with the daycare situation. I won't get into a lot of detail here, but I am finally calling a meeting this week with the director. I am tired of being told that my child could have a behavioral disorder when he only acts out WHEN HE IS THERE! I am tired of getting that feeling every day when I pick him up that he is too much of a hassle for his one teacher (who I've had issues with practically from Day 1 and never said anything to the director) so she chooses to ignores him all day, then treats him punitively when he acts out. I am tired of worrying every day whether he's being scarred for life there by a teacher who clearly doesn't like him. I'm tired of knowing he's unhappy as a result.

The daycare director will hear it all this week. I guess we will see what happens.

Random thoughts on a "sick" day

2008-12-04T11:47:00.005-05:00

We have not been feeling well in the MacDonald house this week. Myles was diagnosed Tuesday with an ear infection and sinus infection after the daycare sent him home that morning with a high fever. I am also battling overall lethargy, congestion, a mild sore throat and off-and-on headaches. Yuck!

Myles has been home with "Gramma Mac" for two days after I took most of the day off Tuesday to be with him. It was my last available sick day of the year. He is having such a wonderful time with her and I can already feel that it will be tough for him to return to daycare tomorrow.

I'm coming to grips with the fact that he just doesn't like it there. The daycare is rated well and came with good recommendations. But it's a daycare - not a nanny - which he became accustomed to during his first 2+ years. With 18 kids and 3 teachers in the classroom, they just don't have the ability to offer him the attention he so craves.

Complicating things is that Billy and I made a big mistake when Myles was younger. We put him with too many different caregivers. He had Meredith for 3 months as a newborn but she had to return to college. Zina kept him for about 8 months and decided one day she was too stressed to continue keeping him. I was then given clearance to transition to a part-time position and we hired Katy to keep him two days a week while I worked. Two months later, I was laid off and he was home with me.

I returned to work six months later and he began his time with Jade. During this time, we also sent him to a two-day-per-week Mother's Morning Out program so that he could interact with more children. Eight months later, Jade had her second baby (she found out she was pregnant very shortly after starting with Myles).

On May 19, Myles started daycare. With the frequent changing of caregivers - which was never our plan for him - we decided he had to move somewhere stable, where he could remain until starting kindergarten.

Due to the many changes he's already endured, we are unwilling to switch daycare centers. None of our previous nannies are available. So either it works out there or I return to the home...something I don't want to do. I know he's unhappy at the daycare because he is hitting and pushing other children daily...something he doesn't do anywhere else. I've confirmed with his Sunday School teacher and observed him at birthday parties and with cousins...the aggression is definitely limited to the daycare.

So we're trying to decide if he needs to stick it out and learn to thrive without the attention he's seeking (which he'll have to do in school anyway) or if we are making a critical error sending him somewhere that he isn't happy. I know that the teachers (at least 2 of the 3) care about him and want him to succeed there. They seem engaged and willing to help him solve his social issues with the other kids. I know that as far as daycares are concerned, it's a good one. I also hear that the 3/4 year-old class is the center's best.

For now, we're planning to hold on until he moves into that class in March, after he turns 3. If things don't improve, I will have a difficult decision on my hands.

How thankful I am

2008-11-28T10:02:00.006-05:00

We had a tremendous Thanksgiving. The weather was amazing, the company was wonderful and the food was fantastic. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the day.

Mommy playing puppeteer

Gavin taking his turnDaddy and the boys

Ian sharing his wisdom with a willing pupil
The kids' dinner table

Your thoughts, please?

2008-11-25T20:26:00.002-05:00

Today, Myles' daycare had a Thanksgiving lunch. Parents were invited to join their children and share a meal and fellowship with other families. It was never an option for Billy and I not to attend. We were signed up the day the sheet was posted.

And yes, the lunch was nice. It was great to see Myles in the middle of the day. What wasn't nice was the scene Myles made when we had to leave! He became so hysterical, I was afraid he would get sick. He cried uncontrollably when it was time for Billy and me to go. Ms. Carla tried very hard to console him but nothing would work. I hung around for about 10 minutes trying to say my good-byes. Billy hung around 30 minutes. It went from bad to worse when I had to leave.

So the question I'm pondering is whether it's the right thing to even attend these gatherings when it's not reasonable to take the rest of the day off. If this were a mid- to even late-afternoon function, I would have skipped out early. But it was over at 12:15. I don't have a lot of vacation or personal days and as you can imagine, my sick days get used up quickly with actual sickness.

There were only about 4 kids from his class and under 10 total who did not have a parent there. Those children had lunch with their teachers...same food, same room, but off in the far corner. At this young age, I'm not sure they know they're missing anything.

But as I saw those few kids sitting without parents, I felt sad for them. Should I? Maybe their parents don't attend these things because they have been through what we went through today. It's something I never thought I'd consider. But then again, I'm not sure I can see Myles as upset as he was today too many times.

So what's worse -- having him eat Thanksgiving lunch with his teachers while 80% of the class enjoys it with a parent or two? Or watching him cry uncontrollably as we return to work? I welcome everyone's feedback!

Weight loss progress

2008-11-24T11:01:00.002-05:00

Well, I completed my first week of trying to lose weight and fared very well. I'm down 3.2 pounds for the week to 145.6, with only 4.6 pounds to go!

I certainly had good days and bad days when it came to eating. I've been SUCH a bad eater, I knew I couldn't become a great eater overnight. But I'm happy to say about half of the days last week were truly good days. On the days I did not do well, I made sure to exercise to somewhat make up for it. Yesterday, I was out running again and managed to get back to 2 miles! My previous run earlier in the week ended after 1.5 miles so I was happy with this progress. Although I was up to about 4 miles at one point in time during the spring, I basically took 6 months off from running so being back at 2 is more than acceptable to me. There is a nice 4-mile run by my house that I intend to be doing by the end of the year so I'm excited to have that goal.

This week, of course, is Thanksgiving. I will allow myself to eat a lot that day. However, I'll be cautious leading up to that day, as well as the weekend after, with the hope that I can be close to 144.0 by next Monday, with just 3 pounds to go! Wish me luck...this won't be easy now that Thanksgiving is here!

T-Rex experience at Disney

2008-11-23T21:16:00.003-05:00

Well, we made another trek to Disney this weekend. We went Saturday evening to eat at the new T-Rex restaurant at Downtown Disney. What a place! It is by far the easiest meal out we've ever had with Myles. No rolling cars across the table, reading stories throughout dinner, or taking a walk outside. The dinosaurs did ALL of the entertaining! The meal was pricey - we spent $70, including tip and did NOT have alcohol (although we did have an appetizer). But it was well worth it. This will become a once-a-year outing for us, I hope. If you have little ones (especially boys), I'd really recommend checking it out!

Family friendly cooking - Part 2

2008-11-21T10:05:00.001-05:00

Here is another good, easy recipe, especially nice during these cooler months!

Pineapple chili
1 lb. ground pork or beef
1 16-oz. jar pineapple salsa
1 15-oz. can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
1 Tbsp. chili powder
Pineapple slices (optional)

Directions:
In 3-quart saucepan brown meat; drain. Stir in salsa, beans, tomato sauce, and chili powder. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Serve with pineapple slices.

Holiday calendar

2008-11-18T12:08:00.003-05:00

As a follow-up to yesterday's post, I've compiled a list of some of the things going on in the area through the New Year, many of which we are attending. I hope you will make the time to go out with your little one(s) this wonderful season.

*Nov. 14 – Jan. 2 - Light Up UCF
*Nov. 17 – Jan. 4 - Gaylord Palms ICE!
*Nov. 22 – Jan. 4 - Nights of Lights (St. Augustine)
*Nov. 23 - JCC Family Festival @ Lake Lily Park, 10am-5pm
*Nov. 28 – Dec. 23 - Santa’s Christmas Tree Forest (Eustis)
*Nov. 29 – Dec. 31 - Now Snowing (Celebration)
Nov. 29 - Light Up Mount Dora
*Dec. 6 - Winter Park Christmas Parade @ Park Ave, 9am
*Dec. 6 - Light Up The Holidays @ Crane's Roost, 5pm
*Dec. 20 - Snowfest @ RDV Sportsplex, 2-6pm

I've put an asterisk next to the things we are doing. We always like to go out with friends so feel free to call me if you want to join us. I'll update as I hear of more events in the area. Let me know if you know of anything else as well. I know there's lots more out there!

Nights of Lights

2008-11-17T12:19:00.003-05:00

There are loads of fun things to do with kids over the holidays. Even if you're like us and don't get invited to many parties, you can always find something fun from Oct. through Dec. Yesterday, I learned of an event I never knew existed. This is rare for me, as I do quite a bit of digging around to find out how we can do things fun (and cheap) as a family. I think the primary reason I was unaware of this event is that it takes place in St. Augustine, a place we do not frequent.

But this year, this event is on our list. It's called Nights of Lights and sounds GREAT! Since Myles has never been to St. Augustine, we are happy to introduce him to a new place. We're even happier to see how much fun he has at the activities. One thing we'll definitely see is their "Winter Wonderland," complete with falling snow, an ice skating rink, ice slide and sleigh rides. When you live in Florida, you LIVE for these types of things when the weather cools (to the freezing 40s!!). They also offer a Santa's Train Tour and Christmas Trolley Tour. While we're there, we'll definitely do one or the other.

We haven't settled on a date yet but we're eyeing Saturday, Dec. 13 and Saturday, Dec. 20. I'll be sure to provide photos and hope your family will also consider this event if you're in North or Central Florida. Happy holidays to all!

Down to earth moments

2008-11-16T09:06:00.002-05:00

I swore in a previous blog that I refused to go on any diets or dislike my "mommy body." Well... that was that day, and this is today. You see, I have put on seven ugly pounds this year, which is equal to the number of pounds I'd put on the entire last decade. It is unacceptable.

So as I grapple with the fact that I'm close to outgrowing my Size 8 clothing, I have decided it's time to kick my own butt and lose all seven of those pounds by the end of the year. I have seven weeks to lose seven pounds. It won't be easy (especially since we're basically in holiday season) but I'm feeling pretty bad about how much I have obviously let myself go since breaking my healthy eating habits and beginning the downward spiral in March.

I started getting serious this weekend. On Friday night, I broke out my old Accelerated Winsor Pilates tape. I used to do these exercises fairly well about six years ago, when we lived in our old condo. There was one exercise I could never quite get the strength to do, but I was pretty darn good at everything else. And these exercises are TOUGH.

Well, long story short, I made it through the workout Friday night...after needing to use the "modified version" of four of the exercises and not even being able to touch the one I could never quite do. I realized while doing many of the stretches just how bad my lower back is. I also realized how completely out of shape I am after abandoning my running in early June and not picking up with anything else. I'm still sore today.

So here's my plan:
1. Winsor Pilates 3 times per week. It's a good, low impact activity I can do to regain good balance and re-strengthen my core (abs). It's also great because I can do it in my own home, whether it's dark outside or not.
2. Running 1-2 miles 3 times per week. Okay, that's a start with getting back into my running routine. Next month, it needs to be at the 2+ mile mark each time I go out. I went early this morning, determined to run a full 2 miles (despite my inactivity these last 6 months) and did OK. I ran 1.5 in a little over 16 min., then had to walk .25 so I didn't collapse, then ran the last quarter mile, finishing the two miles in around 23 min. Not exactly great, but it was a start.

As for my diet, I've decided to add in more fruits and take away half of the sweets. I also significantly increased my water intake this week at work and plan to continue that. Finally, I'm going to force myself to eat breakfast at least 5 days a week (something I'm very bad at) and stop eating after 7:30.

Hopefully, by doing these things, I can enter 2009 where I started it. Goal weight: 141 lbs.

Fast, easy cooking for working moms

2008-11-13T09:07:00.003-05:00

If you're like me, one of the last things you have time to do after working all day and being away from your child for 9 hours is cook an elaborate meal. But you also know it's unreasonable and way too expensive, not to mention bad for your waistline, to be eating out every night. You also want to serve balanced meals, not cereal every night.

I have been working hard to find good recipes that are kid friendly, simple to make and fairly inexpensive. I'll start sharing one weekly on this blog...get on me if I slack off!

Here's a good one, which I made last night and which Myles always loves. The ingredients combined cost me around $6-$7 and it easily feeds two adults and 2 kids. It usually takes me a half hour from start to finish, but 15 min. of that time does not require any of your attention. Typically, I only give about 15 min. of my full attention to cooking when making this meal. And it's quite delicious!

Apple Sausage Rigatoni

6 oz. dried rigatoni (about 2 cups)
8 oz. cooked smoked sausage, halved lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces (*I use the healthy turkey sausage)
2-3 Golden Delicious apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
1/2 cup whipping cream (*I use the light cream found next to whipping cream in the dairy aisle)
1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola or other blue cheese
Snipped fresh basil (optional)

Directions
1. In a 4-quart Dutch oven cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Set aside.
2. In same Dutch oven cook sausage until lightly browned (usually about 3-4 min. for me). Add apples; cook, stirring occasionally, until apples are lightly golden, 5 min. or so. Stir in cooked pasta, whipped cream, and cheese. Heat through. Garnish with basil. Makes 4 servings.

A day off...take it for yourself?

2008-11-12T15:32:00.003-05:00

I am taking this Friday as a personal day. Originally, I hoped to drive 90 miles to spend some time with my dad, who is battling cancer. Although those plans aren't working out, I will still take the day off. After all, I have a few days to take by the end of the year, so why not?

As I started planning for the day, I began feeling guilty about taking Myles to daycare when I'm not working. The last day I took off (Halloween), I kept him home and we had a very fun day. But this time, I just feel too behind in life's tasks to give up the opportunity to take the day for myself. I have already made a list of things I'd like to do Friday that would be humanly impossible to complete.

But I can feel good about getting some of the things done, right? For one, I need to continue my Christmas shopping, which I've been SO good about this year, having already finished my dad and brother and started Myles and my sister. I also have a small pile of things that need to go to the children's consignment store, and one larger item for Craigslist. And yes, I still need to take down my Halloween decorations. And bake a pumpkin roll. And get a pedicure. Okay, actually I don't need to get the pedicure...but i could use it!

How about you? When you elect to take a day off (and you or your child aren't sick), do you ever send your child to childcare? Should I feel bad for this?

I voted!

2008-11-04T11:20:00.002-05:00

I'm proud to say I voted this morning! As a mom, I feel the duty to vote for the person/people who will make our nation a safer, more peaceful and prosperous place for Myles. I'm very happy to report I voted for the person I 100% believe will do that!

Of course, since I don't operate a political blog here, I won't be saying WHO I voted for. Most of you know anyway.

I'm also fasting food today, spending the time I would normally be eating, in prayer for our nation. It's time we came together again as one and stood together for the greater good of ourselves and our children.

Trick or Treating at work

2008-10-30T14:38:00.003-04:00

Billy's company had a trick-or-treating event at the office yesterday afternoon. The employees' kids were invited to come in costume and trick-or-treat around the building while enjoying lots of home-made sweets. Myles went as a dinosaur and we came home with close to 10 pounds of candy...GOOD candy! Nearly everyone had a huge bucket of assorted chocolates and Myles made sure to grab handfuls at several of the stations, especially if they had M&Ms.

Mommy and Daddy also enjoyed some of the food that was brought in...from dirt cups to cupcakes to assorted cookies and brownies. A good time was had by all and I am stealing the idea for my office next year (since these types of events fall within my job description)!

Not So Scary Halloween

2008-10-29T22:19:00.003-04:00

We took Myles to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at Disney's Magic Kingdom Sunday night. We went back and forth all weekend on whether to spend the money ($50 per person) but decided to go for it after the great day we'd had Sunday and when we realized it was the last year Myles could go for free (under 3).

I think I speak for the whole family when I say it was wonderful! We had such a great time and it was worth every penny! Not only did we come home with about 5 pounds of GOOD candy after trick or treating around the park throughout the night, but pretty much every ride was open and there were little to no lines since Disney caps the attendance for this special event.

We rode the Teacups, Winnie the Pooh, Pirates of the Caribbean, Buzz Lightyear, the Tomorrowland people-mover, Goofy's kiddie coaster, and took three turns on the Indy race track (at Myles' request).

The parade was also fabulous and there were lots of characters who you don't usually see when visiting Disney (mostly the villains). The highlight of the night was Myles meeting Tarzan, Jane and Turk (the gorilla). This is one of his two favorite movies (second only to Cars) and he was in awe of the characters. Captain Hook was also a big hit.

While this is a little pricey (in total, we spent a little over $150 including parking and food), it is well worth doing if you have a little one. As a matter of fact, Billy and I both said we probably won't do Disney any other way moving forward. You pay about $15-20 less, can go into the park at 4pm (event ends at Midnight), have no lines and walk out with tons of free candy. It is really a good deal, if you ask me and as Disney always does, they make it magical for the kids (and even for the adults). Don't miss out on going to this event one year! I can absolutely guarantee you won't be disappointed (and I do NOT work for Disney)!

People and parties

2008-10-24T10:59:00.002-04:00

So a friend of mine is having a great little children's Halloween party this weekend. We received our invite about a month ago and have been looking forward to it ever since. The kids are invited to wear costumes and bring a goody bag so that they can collect some treats. She's been buying deocrations for the house and working on recipes that will be fun for the kids and tasty for the adults, while sticking with the Halloween theme. Like me, she lives in a smaller house so didn't invite the whole world to come.

Then, the inevitable happened. Everyone started canceling. One right after another. It's sad, really. Today, she called me in disbelief...wondering if she should try to reschedule or just hold the party for the TWO kids (including my own) who are able to attend. She decided to hold it anyway and here is why:

People are notorious for this. It's the reason I only hold one party at year now at my home. They always say they're coming, then cancel for one reason or another. "We are now going out of town," "Child is sick," "Family decided to come and visit that weekend," are all excuses I've heard one too many times. And the biggest culprits are parents.

Listen folks, I don't want to offend anyone, but we have to be more sensitive to other people when they are putting forth an effort to be a friend. Obviously things come up. Unexpected emergencies happen. And in these cases, you are clearly off the hook. But there are too many times when people back out of a gathering and give an excuse...when really the excuse is that they just don't feel like going any more. It's been a bad day. They're tired. Whatever. It's inconsiderate...especially when done at the very last minute.

I feel really bad for my friend. She is one of the best friends I've been blessed to know and she doesn't deserve this. Now she's left with tons of food that won't get eaten. What's worse, she's left with hurt feelings...wondering if people just don't like her. I can't tell you how many times I've asked myself the same question. Why, oh why aren't people ever available to come to my parties? Do they just not like me?

I've been as guilty as everyone else of backing out of something for less than good reasons. But I, for one, am committing not to do so again. After all, I could use the friendships.

Wordless Wednesday - my new kitchen

2008-10-22T13:35:00.001-04:00

"I don't like Mommy!"

2008-10-22T13:19:00.004-04:00

This is what Myles told me when we were driving home Sunday after his weekend with my parents. He had a wonderful time with them in Ocala but didn't want to come home due to the nonstop excitement. I tried to explain to him that he needed to come home because he LIVES there...and because we love him and want to be with him. It didn't work. "I don't like mommy!" So I tried telling him Daddy was crying because he missed him so much (Daddy was at home finishing the kitchen when I was driving Myles home). "No daddy! I don't like daddy!" was the response.

Billy doesn't think he fully understands what he's saying when he says he doesn't like someone or something. He feels he's just trying to communicate that he doesn't want to be with that person at that time. I'm not so sure. All I know is it hurts and I never expected I'd hear the "I don't like you" line this early in my child's life.

Looks like I have some work to do.

Here are two photos taken over the weekend during his stay with my parents. Both are taken at Silver Springs, which is a fabulous place to take children, especially in the fall and around the holidays, when they have extra activities and exhibits setup. It's worth the drive from Orlando when you have a day to spare.

What to do when your child is gone for the weekend

2008-10-16T13:43:00.001-04:00

Wow, there are so many things I could think of doing with Myles spending the weekend with my parents tonight through Sunday. There's the Epcot Food & Wine Festival...a late season trip to the beach...heck, there must be something good playing in the movies or at the theatre this weekend. Unfortunately for us, tearing out our kitchen beats out all of these suggestions. Ugh. I guess it's better to do it while Myles is out of the house than in the house.

I'm going to miss the little man so much...he brings such life and joy into our home. I know he'll have a great time though, as he always does with Meme and Papa. Hopefully he'll want to come home this time!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-10-15T16:20:00.003-04:00

Us at Green Meadows Petting Farm in early Oct. This place is a must for toddlers and is especially nice in Oct. with their pumpkin patch and Halloween decorations.

Coping with guilt

2008-10-15T16:05:00.000-04:00

I'm going through another "feeling guilty phase." Lately, Myles has been (to put it lightly) clingy with me, particularly in the evenings. He wants 100% of my attention at all times.

So I've had a choice to make...do I give him every moment of my attention from the time I pick him up until the time he drifts off to sleep, sacrificing time with Billy, making dinner, tidying things up and getting in some "me" time? Or do I teach him now that even though I'm away from him for 45 hours a week, I need even more time to spend on things other than him?

It's a real struggle. The latest thing to suffer was the 4-week Bible study I'd joined on Wed. nights. Myles absolutely did not want me to pick him up, then take him to another childcare setting for 90 minutes so that I could learn about how to love. So I missed the last class. I couldn't refuse the time with him. I would have missed the 3rd class as well if it weren't for the fact that Billy got off early that night and was able to meet me at the church and pick him up. After all, he won't want to spend time with me forever! Another issue is I have gained 5 pounds (that I did NOT need to gain) because we're not eating as well and I'm exercising very rarely.

I truly want to spend time with Myles, but I am struggling more than ever to make time for things other than work and being a mom. There's no time for cooking, no time for laundry (until after he finally crashes at around 9:30 p.m.), and no time for spending time with my poor husband, again until after he goes to bed and the bare minimum chores are done.

I love my job and what I do, but I truly wish I could shave about 10 hours a week off my work schedule right about now. That, of course, will not happen, so for now, I'm searching for the right balance, as well as any advice anyone has to offer. I welcome your thoughts.

No time for blogging these days

2008-10-07T15:52:00.003-04:00

I have fully intended to blog many, many days. But I have not made the time to do so. You see, I have been incredibly busy. I just wrapped up our annual Workplace Giving event at work on Oct. 3. We're also in the middle of a kitchen remodel and some major electrical work. I'm also doing a women's Beth Moore Bible study (which is awesome) and am very, very caught up in the presidential election, which I truly feel will make or break our country, depending on how people vote.

We have, however, tried to make as much time as we can for fun. We're excited for Halloween this year and are determined not to be SICK this year!!! Myles will be a dinosaur...see above. We're also busy with fall festivals and other fun outings now that the weather is bearable. Last weekend, we went to Green Meadows Petting Farm and had a BLAST! This weekend, we're going to Oktoberfest at Celebration, as we did last year. Lots more fun stuff planned this month through Dec. so I'll try to blog any opportunity I get. Check back weekly, as I do hope to update at least that often. Enjoy your fall!

New hair!

2008-09-21T14:13:00.002-04:00

Well, Myles and I both have new hairstyles. We chopped Myles' hair last weekend and I changed my color and style yesterday. Attached is a photo I took after laying Myles down for his nap this afternoon.

Awesome makeup offer

2008-09-21T14:07:00.003-04:00

I have not been blogging lately because I simply can't find the time. I have been swamped at work, as we're in the middle of our annual Workplace Giving Campaign, which I co-chair. On top of that, our evenings have been taken up with home improvement projects that have popped up. This week, we'll have a major electrical job done in our house and the kitchen will follow next month. We were fortunate not to have to do our plumbing.

Anyway, the reason for this post is that Nordstrom has purchased the e.l.f. makeup line (eyes lips face). I've never used their products, but know others who have, each of whom loves what they've used. You can only purchase their products online, to my knowledge. Anyway, since they are now having to re-brand all of the e.l.f. products, they are selling the remaining items - the ENTIRE line - for $1 apiece!!! Yesterday I purchased $65 worth of items, including five bronzing powders, two concealer sticks, two foundation sticks, and dozens of eyeshadows, lipsticks and nail polishes. If you use the code "CAROLINA" at check out, you'll get an additional $7.50 off a $15 order. And shipping for my huge order was only $6.95. Check it out at www.eyeslipsface.com. You can find some great deals for yourself or as Christmas gifts! Enjoy!

Atlanta photos

2008-09-04T16:59:00.010-04:00

We had an awesome time in Atlanta!!! We did so much in just 2.5 days. Here were the highlights:

1. Six Flags Over Georgia

2. Georgia Aquarium

3. Imagine It Children's Museum

4. Stone Mountain

5. Fun dinners with our hosts, Julie & Bryan

I'll be back soon with more to say about our trip and other news and events that affect us moms.

5 things to take on a road trip with kids

2008-08-29T10:37:00.002-04:00

So we are embarking on our journey to Atlanta tonight and I still have to get home and finish packing after all of us unexpectedly crashed at 9:30 last night. Thank you to Debby for the recommendation to visit Stone Mountain...we are going on Monday and coming home very late Monday night. Good thing I took Tuesday off!

Anyway, back to the purpose for this post. Here is what we can't live without on this trip:

5. Sunscreen for the two days we're spending outdoors.
4. Fun snacks for the road and during one of our many stops (we don't want to be forking out bills every time Myles is thirsty or just wants a small snack).
3. At least 4 movies for the long car ride up and back.
2. The camera...and lots of spare batteries for it!
1. An extra helping of patience...just in case!

Most likely, you won't hear from me again until Tuesday. Enjoy the weekend!

Locked out

2008-08-27T22:07:00.002-04:00

Grrr...we locked ourselves out of the house tonight. How could we, you may ask? Well, it was the combination of lots of variables...and it wasn't pretty.

Myles was not happy when we returned from a bike ride to the local playground only to find we were locked out. It was coming up on 9pm. Billy had his keys, but the key we needed (to our bottom lock on the side door) was inside the house, where our housekeepers had left it after cleaning today. Billy didn't think about that before he left the house with his keys. Oh, and our front door has a deadbolt on it.

We tried all of the windows, the glass sliding door, even called the police, but alas, we were out of luck. With Myles having a meltdown screaming "GO INSIDE!" Billy finally decided to KICK IN our front door!!! He unlocked the actual lock with his key and had to kick the door about 6 or 7 times to break the deadbolt. It was quite disturbing, but on the bright side, at least we know our door frame is pretty darn sturdy! It wasn't damaged a bit!

Atlanta-bound

2008-08-26T12:35:00.002-04:00

We are going on a quick vacation this weekend! Friday afternoon, Billy, Myles and I will pile into my car and make the 7-hour drive to Atlanta. We're staying with one of my closest friends, Julie and her husband Bryan. We are thrilled. This will be Myles' first trip!

While I love seeing new places, I am not a good traveler. I H-A-T-E to fly and while I enjoy a good road trip, it doesn't sound too appealing with a toddler. And, to be fair to him, it doesn't sound like much fun for him. As a result, Myles has never been out of the state...actually, he's only been two places - Treasure Island, FL (about 2.5 miles to the southwest) and Ocala, FL (about 90 miles north). Now that we're rapidly approaching 2.5, we felt it was time and Atlanta was the perfect place to go!

While there, we are taking Myles to Six Flags Over Georgia, where they have a massive Thomas the Tank Engine area and lots of rides, many of which he can ride. We're also going to the Georgia Aquarium and the Imagine That! Children's Museum. I've already started hyping the trip up to Myles. He knows he's going to see Thomas the Train and "the sharks." He's getting excited, but not as excited as me!

More to come, along with lots of pictures!

Entertaining a toddler during a never-ending Tropical Storm

2008-08-22T07:07:00.002-04:00

Tropical Storm Fay has been sitting over us for more than 48 hours and it's not been easy for Myles. The schools (and his day care) are open one day (because it looks like it's heading out) and closed the next (because it decides to stall again). The poor kid has been indoors for 3 days. However, we've tried to have some indoor fun these ways:

1. Lots of coloring. Myles loves to have me draw shapes for him so that he can identify them. He can also draw a pretty nice looking circle. We've probably spent more time coloring these last 3 days than we have his entire life. It's actually been nice!

2. Playing different games with his beach ball. We've played monkey in the middle, worked on his throwing and catching skills and batted the ball around our huge coffee table (among the 3 of us) doing our best not to let it hit the floor. Of course, as soon as Myles realized the reaction it got when it did fall to the floor (Ohhhh noooooo!), he purposely let it drop each time it came his way.

3. Watching movies. Last night we watched about half of Peter Pan before bed. We've also watched Cars, Finding Nemo and parts of Meet the Robinsons (which belongs to some friends who have been on vacation).

What do you do when you're stuck inside with a toddler for such long stretches? Today is more of the same...day care closed, winds high and rain heavy. If Fay doesn't go away very, very soon, I'm afraid we're all going to lose our minds!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-08-20T16:01:00.002-04:00

My head is ready to explode at work so I had to stop and breathe. Here's a fun recent photo from a park trip.

Free movies at UCF

2008-08-16T21:45:00.004-04:00

Last night we took Myles to his first movie - a free showing of some cartoons on the UCF lawn, showing on a 26' screen. It was a gorgeous night and we were able to get a seat pretty close to the screen. But we were validated in our opinion that he's not quite ready for the movie theater yet when he decided he was done about 15-20 minutes in. Now, in his defense, we did get there about 45 minutes before they actually started. We wanted to get a seat up front and we wanted to sit on the lawn and eat some pizza (which you could order from your blanket with servers from the on-campus establishments walking around taking orders). And the movie itself really wasn't all that relevant for an active two year-old. But hey, we tried and we will most likely try one of these again because a) it's something to do and b) it's free. I certainly recommend these movies on the lawn to families with young kids in the area.

The area where they showed the movie (Knights Plaza, on campus) is beautifully decorated with lots of nicely lit trees. Here's a photo as we were leaving around 9.

The body of a mommy

2008-08-13T09:22:00.006-04:00

I've been thinking a lot this year about my body. It sure has changed over the past 10 years, when I was a svelte 21 year-old Barbie doll! Gosh, even if I look back four years ago, the old body was much more attractive to the average eye.

And then I look at myself today. Sure, I'm up 11 pounds from where I was at 21. I'm up about 5 pounds from where I was four years ago. I never quite found my waistline again and my hips decided they'd keep about an extra inch or two. My legs started to sag a little. And I continued to look in People Magazine every week and cry inside that I didn't look like the women I see in its pages.

I made a pact with myself that I'd finally get that pre-pregnancy body back (2 years post-partum, mind you), joined Weight Watchers and got to work. Well, I lost those last few pregnancy pounds. But do you know what? As soon as I eased up, I put them all back on! It took me 6 weeks to take them off and 6 days to put them back on.

It was then that I realized my body is where it wants to be as a 31 year-old mom. And it was then that I decided I would love my body regardless if it was a size 8 (which it is) or a size 4 (which I so longed to be again).

Don't get me wrong - I still want to exercise and be in shape. And I know I need to eat right. Those choices should be a part of every person's lifestyle, thin or not thin. But what I'm no longer doing is depriving myself of a piece of cake if I want it. Or ordering skimpy salads with little to no dressing when I really want a chicken breast and fries. I'm learning to live with my body...all size 8 of it!

Here are a couple of pictures - one from four years ago, when I was "Barbie" (and that's Jen from Another Online Mom to my right!) and one from earlier this year, at Disney. You can't see my body well, especially on the first photo, but I'll have to post some different photos when I'm home and have access to them.

My new layout

2008-08-12T09:21:00.003-04:00

So I finally bit the bullet, sat down and took the time to find a more suitable layout for my site... you know, something that actually matches my personality. So thanks to my friend Katy of Another Mommie Blog, I came across this great blog designer named Lena. She had dozens of very cool designs that were fairly simple to download. Let me know your thoughts on the new blog if you have a minute.

Counting the days til August is over!

2008-08-11T15:30:00.000-04:00

So I'm taking the idea for this post from my friend Jen's blog but this is something I was just thinking about this morning. I absolutely detest August! I think every Floridian must (unless you have a birthday this month)! It's hot, muggy and the amount of rain always seems to drop off, leaving my poor plants to shrivel up! It's even unbearable to go to a shady park and play on most August days. It's also a dead month in the hockey world (my favorite sport) and the holidays are all still too far away to get excited about. So while I H-A-T-E August every year (and dread it from about May until it's officially over), I've decided to find my Top 3 favorite things about it. This is something my husband has encouraged me to do, since he says I complain too much about the weather (wah, wah!). So here they are...enjoy (Billy)!

1. Mad Men is in season the entire month (my favorite TV show)
2. The fall clothing line is released (always very exciting for me)
3. My mom and my brother celebrate birthdays, which means two pieces of cake to gorge down

Are Jen and I alone in our overall disdain for August? What else is there to love about it? Please...I'm dying for reasons here!

Fun times...some old, some new

2008-08-11T08:53:00.002-04:00

Well, the week of being a single mom (Billy was in California) is finally over and our goal over the weekend was to really re-connect again as a family and show Myles lots of fun. I think that goal was accomplished!

Truly, the highlight of the weekend was our Saturday trip to Wet & Wild, a nearby waterpark in Orlando. Billy's company was holding its annual picnic there, meaning the day was 100% free! What a fun time we had! The park was absolutely packed, so we spent most of our time in the kids area. This area, while fairly crowded, definitely offered room to breathe, and the company rented out three very large covered pavilions for its employees and families, with people only able to enter if they had on a wristband. These large pavilions came in handy when they shut everything down around noon for an hour to wait out a thunderstorm. Myles did ride on one slide - The Bubba Tub. Billy, Myles, and his co-worker and 4 year-old son waited 45 minutes to ride the five-story slide that features a gigantic tube taking on three drops. Myles looked petrified as he was coming down the final drop (I had a good view), but when they got to the bottom and we were all cheering for him, he let out an uneasy laugh and yelled "Again!" Of course, there was no again. Not with the lines.

We also had fun Sunday evening, as Myles and I went down to Shady Park for him to play in the splash fountain for about an hour. He loves the water and now that we're only about six weeks from the beginning of the seasonal change, we're getting in our last bits of fun.

We are also planning to go to Chick Fil A tomorrow night to see Mr. Richard give his monthly performance there for the kids. It's always a fun night, as Myles loves Mr. Richard. Hopefully this time, I can get some photos.

Reasons I work

2008-08-05T09:20:00.000-04:00

Sometimes people ask me why I choose to work when I have such a wonderful little boy who I could spend my days with. It's a fair question! After all, Myles is truly a joy and there are many days when I have a lot of guilt for leaving him with someone who certainly doesn't love him anywhere near the way I do. So I ponder the question...and offer some answers.

1. I really enjoy having a life outside of motherhood. I tried being home for about six months and didn't enjoy it at all. Now, in all fairness, Myles was at his most challenging while I was home and I felt very unprepared to deal with the challenges. I also felt very tired and found myself dying to get some time away from Myles, which is very unhealthy.

As a working mom, my life is much more routine (most days!). Myles and I spend some time together in the morning, we enjoy our car ride to the daycare center, I come to work on projects that generally don't require mommy skills, and I'm able to socialize with other adults. When 5:00 rolls around, I'm dashing out the door...dying to see Myles and create some memories.

2. I have no support network. With my closest family member living 50 minutes away (and she is very busy with 3 kids!), I typically cannot lean on family to just "give me a break." Usually, I can only get help in an extreme emergency. It's a little better during the summer when my mom is not working, but she, too, is 90 minutes away, hardly around the corner. I also have very, very few friends. The friends I've made in the past 10 years are all either in another state now, or they do not have kids. There are one or two exceptions but again, people are very busy and I can hardly fill much time with just one or two other moms to hang out with.

3. I enjoy having the extra money. It is always interpreted as a selfish statement, but I have to be honest here. I can't stand being "broke." I want to take a vacation every year (although that hasn't quite worked out yet) and I don't want to have to worry so much when we have to spend $5,000 to have our house re-plumbed (which we may be facing right now) or when a car needs major service. Particularly in these economic times, Billy and I are seeing our "net worth" dropping steadily before our eyes...as our house has lost $50k in value in under three years and our investments have been losing money every quarter. In essence, if we were faced with an emergency, we wouldn't have a lot of money to fall back on if I stopped working and we were once again living paycheck-to-paycheck.

So there you have it. Straight from a working mom's mouth. I absolutely adore Myles...I would give up my life if it would save his. My heart does ache for him when I'm gone. But I've been on the other side...and this is the right one for me at this point in my life.

Positive discipline

2008-07-31T16:04:00.000-04:00

Well, we had an incident with Myles this week that really caused me to stop and wonder what I'm doing wrong when it comes to discipline. We've settled into this routine where anytime we ask Myles to do something, he will ALWAYS either ignore us or say no (unless it's something like eating a piece of cake). So we'll sternly ask him again and sometimes even a 3rd time. When he still doesn't comply, we'll say Myles...Myles...Myles, are you listening to Mommy? (or Daddy) Our voice grows more stern with each syllable. He always looks over then to acknowledge us. Then we'll start counting...one...TWO...and he complies. He doesn't want us to get to three because when we do, he gets a swat on the bottom. (while many parents disagree with spanking, we do not as long as it's never done in anger)

This strategy, though, is getting old. And it's not correcting the root problem that he doesn't listen to us the first time we ask. So I've hit the Positive Discipline book again. I started reading it when Myles first started throwing tantrums and found he was a little too young for me to adopt many of its practices. At that age, only distraction was appropriate. But these days, Myles is clearly smarter and learning to manipulate. He's also pushing his boundaries more and more each day. As we observe his frustration at times, we realize we are simply not doing things the right way and something needs to change.

So while I am not a reader (I hate reading, actually), I will be reading this book in record time, hoping to bring Myles up in a loving, respectful environment...with limits.

If anyone else has any thoughts, suggestions or other good reads, please let me know. This is a difficult process, but a critical one. Myles' future depends on it.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-07-30T13:49:00.001-04:00

Isn't he just precious? We've all been sick so I'll have to catch up tonight or tomorrow.

Our new addition

2008-07-24T22:38:00.001-04:00

Ha! I'll bet I fooled some people with that title! Nope, no babies here...instead, we have added our newest toy to the household and it's a goodie! Myles is really into "meanies" right now. Anything with "big teeth" is a winner...sharks, alligators, T-Rex dinosaurs, etc.

So while at Toys R Us tonight (where we were purchasing something for a brand new baby), we came across this dinosaur, which Myles HAD to have! Although Myles is acting a little timid with him for the time being - especially when he coils his entire body and roars - I expect that he'll be a household favorite very soon!

My dancing friend

2008-07-23T21:59:00.000-04:00

I've never thought of Myles as much of a dancer. Heck, he never even seemed all that into music. After all, Kindermusik class was more about chasing him around the room than actually participating in the songs and activities! But maybe he's about to prove me wrong...or perhaps he was simply waiting to hear music that lived up to his taste!

We took Myles to see Mr. Richard, a talented local children's musician, at Chick-Fil-A last night. It was our second time seeing Mr. Richard, with Myles showing "some" interest in June. But tonight was different. Myles really seemed awed and into the music. He remembered a Mr. Richard song from the last time we saw him called "Sloopy Doop" and he wanted to hear him. So I took him up to put in his request. He DANCED throughout the entire song and laughed out loud in the greatest joyful spirit you've ever seen. He was having a great time! He had Mr. Richard laughing, because - in typical Myles fashion - it wasn't enough to just dance. He wanted to PLAY. Meaning...play the guitar! He got right up in face of the guitar and started lightly touching it during the song. Before the night was over, Mr. Richard was showing Myles how to strum a chord. It was very cool and even more cute!

Oh, and I bought Myles the newest Mr. Richard CD while there (which sadly, does not have Sloopy Doop on it). It was signed, "To my dancing friend, Myles." Your friend, Richard.

How sweet is that! Check out Mr. Richard's site here...if you aren't local and don't know of him, he's fabulous and has something about him that kids love. Check him out!