Mommy's Not Here

Whoever said that the more years between your kids the easier it is, should seriously go to hell. I'd rather have three two year olds than the six year age gap between my two little monsters.

Tying to put ABC flash cards in a little baggy one-at-a-time, while helping do word sorts for my son's homework is not my idea of a fun relaxing evening. Did I mention my son was complaining about doing his homework and purposely writing his sentences sloppy just to make me mad while my daughter was screaming because she is just too cool to use her big girl words? Oh, and the dog was jumping on the counter trying to get left overs.

Some nights I wish someone would just put me in time out and I promise, I will sit there quietly. Or maybe have my body go on auto pilot. My husband works nights so I am left to fend for myself. Make dinner, clean up dinner, homework, baths, and the unknown nightly dramas that seems to occur. I seem to be a magnet for disasters. ( Two spilled glasses of water, with ice. I left the water running over a pot filled with dish liquid. Soap suds were everywhere.)

Most days I have a very lovely schedule I stick to that starts early in the AM and doesn't end until I fall asleep on the couch. Awesome as it is to have such a strict plan for the day, it can be a downfall as well. Do you know what happens when you have a plan like that and one little piece of it falls out of place? The entire day comes crashing down right on you!

My hard learned advice:
1. Start each day without a plan
2. Know that anything can and will happen
3. Baby's nap time is your nap time (read a book, watch a movie, relax)
4. When you feel like everything is falling apart, order take-out and go out for ice cream.
5. Even if you don't feel like it, have sex! You just might surprise yourself.
6. Date Nights without kids are very very important.
7. It's okay if you lose your temper...you're only human
8. Bubble baths after the kids go to bed while listening to your favorite tunes
9. Initiate food fights every once in a while (hehe the kids will love it)
10. Remind yourself that no mom is perfect ( If you ever happen to find one that is, let me know and we'll go egg her house ;)

Keeping the house clean, making dinner, and trying to stay fit is tough for any mom. Men can have eight kids and still look the exact same. No stretch marks, weight gain, or sagging body parts. (Sooo unfair) I feel like no matter what your post preggo bod looks like, or how clean or un-clean your house is that you rock no matter what. Being a mom is incredible!

That Little " Oh Yeah Baby" In My Life

Okay, I don't know about you but I literally cannot function without at least one and a half cups of coffee in the morning, complete with my favorite creamer, the tiniest teaspoon of sugar and the ability to choose one of my three favorite mugs to pour the blissfully aromatic darkness into.

I have never quite figured out what it is that makes this delectable little cup of heaven so wonderful. Laying in bed listening to the coffee maker perking away in the kitchen followed by a puff of steam rolling off the lid starts off my morning. I can hardly wait until it's done as I anxiously wait by the pot so I can watch dark liquid turn my mug into something much much more. It becomes my best friend for a few hours as we hold hands down the hallway to make sure my kids are still asleep. We curl up together under a blanket and enjoy the silence of the house. The now creamy hot loveliness that gently rolls down my throat and warms my belly puts a smile on my face.

Once this love triangle began between the mug, the coffee and I, morning never came soon enough. I would sit at the dinner table forcing down gulps of ice cold water just staring at the coffee pot. Wishing for that moment, that first sip of am wonder that has the power to transform my day from sleepy to productive.

Something about the steam curling out of the top of a cup of coffee seems exotic and might entice you to give your partner a good morning hug. It makes reading the morning paper a bit more interesting, and any kind of chocolate croissant just about explodes into your mouth followed by a hot sip.

I've always been able to count on coffee for those late night last minute papers. It helps break the ice between old friends. "Let's go out for coffee and catch up!" Whether we actually make good on the invitation is on us.

I am deeply grateful and irrevocably in love with coffee.

Technology Is Taking Over

Almost everyone has to rely on some form of technology on a day to day basis. Whether it's a blackberry, or mapquesting directions, we would all probably die without these incredible things. Or are they? How many people can even read a map anymore? I can hardly function without my cell phone.
Do we go to the library when we have questions about things, or want to research information. Hell No! We Google!

Thanks to things like facebook and twitter we are able to constantly be in touch with people we care about. Does this prevent us from actually getting out of the house and going to visit someone instead of messaging them on facebook?

I remember going to the mall and buying C.D's all the time. It was the coolest thing ever to go into the music store and purchase the hottest new singles. Since the development of the I Pod no one does this anymore. I have much more fun downloading the hottest songs ( for free... sshhh!!) onto my I Pod. A lot of those great music stores closed down because of it.

Thanks to Netflix, Blockbusters, and Movie Gallery's are a thing of the past. Now, my favorite... The Kindle. A way to read your favorite books without actually having to go to a bookstore. And, you get enormous discounts on the Kindle store online. Barnes and Noble price $25.00 Kindle Price $12.00. It makes me wonder if this will catch on the way Netflix and I Pods did and what this means for bookstores now? Will they become virtual bookstores, only having websites?

This could potentially be good for the environment. Less book printing = more happy trees!

With all the technology that we are exposed to what would happen if it was all taken away? Would be able to do anything? Even simple math since we rely on calculators so much. I use spell check for everything because I can't spell to save my life and as long as I can click a button and have every word looking like it should I don't think I will be practicing anytime soon.

Just babbling out loud I guess.... but it is interesting to think about. Don't get me wrong, I am obsessed with it all. My Laptop, my berry, I Pod, Kindle, and everything I can do on each one because I would be lost, confused, and unable to find a pay phone since those almost don't exist anymore either, if I had to go it alone.

But the truth is, people did survive without all this junk and for the most part seemed to manage fine. ( Unless someone was deathly ill and they had to ride a horse for two days just to find a doctor.) Who knows, maybe there was less drama.

Birthday Wishes

Lot's of people have all kinds of material wishes for Christmas and Birthday's. They want new clothes, I pods, cell phones... the list goes on and on. Everyone gets so focused on what their getting, or how many presents have their name on it. I feel like all the celebration stopped being about family and started being about what you made out with.

My 25th birthday is today and while I spent the first twenty four years of my life wondering what I was getting for my birthday, something changed this year. ( Or maybe I am actually growing up? Eeeekk!!)

My amazing family surprised me for the weekend. I have never been so excited or had such a fulfilling birthday. For the first time in my life, I honestly didn't care what I was getting. I just didn't want my family to leave. I truly realized how special they are and how lucky I am to have so many incredible people in my family to share my birthday with.

Life is very short and in the blink of an eye a big part of it is over. While I still have so many more wonderful things I am going to experience, good and bad, I know my family is the one constant in my life. You outgrow clothes, electronics break after a few years and have to be replaced. What I have with my family, and my husband will never break, and it will never have to be replaced. The bond we all share is strong. We will continue to grow and change with each other, never apart. We're Italian, so that says it all as far as interesting is concerned.

The celebration shouldn't be about what you're getting, it needs to be about what you already have!
Love you all with my whole heart!!