Flashback Friday: What Was I Thinking?

What Was I Thinking?

*originally posted December 13, 2008*

It sounded so simple and made so much sense.  The cabinets were bare.  Starving Princesses were grating on my every last nerve begging for food.  We'd just run to the store for a few quick things.  Nothing major, just the essentials.  Your Majesty started making a list (maybe overkill for just a "few things", but I know that I do much better with the old bottom line if I stick to my list).  Milk of course, then cereal, and bread... so far so good.  Oh and we're out of paper towels, and nearly out of toilet paper... and I should get a few extra things to make the Princesses' lunches with... and maybe I'll be able to grab a few things off my stocking stuffer list....

We finally make it out the door, with a much longer list than "the essentials" would require.  But that's ok.  I'm organized and ready.  We'll hit Super Wal-mart so fast we'll be out of there in no time.  All the Princesses have gone potty, a fresh diaper is donned, My Little Ponies are in tow for amusement - we're good to go.

One small, teeny-tiny detail:  It's Saturday.  December 13th.  A mere 12 days before Christmas.  Before you break into song about swans a-swimming and partridges in pear trees, let's analyze the ramifications of going to Super Wal-mart in the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday just 12 days before Christmas:

1.  No parking spaces.  Ever wonder what the entire perimeter of the Wal-mart parking lot looks like?  Go on a Saturday afternoon 12 days before Christmas.  You'll get a chance to drive around it several times, watching every single car in front of you get lucky and snag a spot - only to leave you to drive on, circling and circling until your Princesses are complaining of getting dizzy.

2.  No shopping carts.  Really, I'm not sure what the problem is with keeping the cart corral stocked with carts.  I probably passed 50 out in the parking lot - don't they pay teenage boys to push those suckers back to the building?  Next time I'll grab one on my way in.

3.  More than enough people.  You would think that Wal-mart is the place to be on a Saturday afternoon.  It's like being on a gigantic bumper car ride, except you are pushing your cars instead of driving them.  And as time goes by, more weight is added to your car which makes it even more difficult to steer.  Add in of course a Princess or two and then it really gets fun.

4.  Lack of common sense.  One would think that in a place like Wal-mart, swarming with people and nearly out of control shopping carts, one would take care to see that they stay within their own "space" and offer the simplest basic courtesy to others around them by not blocking aisles, barreling around corners, allowing their kids to  swerve in and out of people on those blasted tennis shoes with wheels in the heel... one would think.  But one would also be mistaken.

5.  Murphey's Law:  no matter what you do, you will always, ALWAYS choose the wrong check out lane.  (just a PSA here:  if you have a line 3 deep behind you and you're nearly done checking out when you discover that you forgot to grab some ornament hooks for your precious ornaments - do everyone a favor and come back another time to grab the hooks.  Really, it's not that big of a deal.  And it's not worth making everyone behind you in line wait an extra 10 minutes while you try to snag down a Wal-mart employee to have them go fight the crowds to bring back hooks for you.  Use paper clips for crying out loud!)

6.  No matter how well behaved, even Princesses can only stand Wal-mart for so long.

We're lucky we made it out alive.

My friends, have a wonderful, relaxing Labor Day weekend and stay away from Super Wal-Mart if you can help it!  I'll see ya back here in a couple of days!

And Now You Are Eight

Not so very long ago, I held you in my arms for the very first time.

You were so small, fragile, the world in my hands.

So many hopes and dreams wrapped up in a tiny body.

And now you are eight.

You no longer fit all curled up on my lap, your gangly legs hang over the side.

Still full of hopes and dreams, some of them close to realized.

Not so very long ago, I watched as you learned to take your first steps.

Desperately wanting to be independent.

Determined to succeed.

And now you are eight.

And now you can fly.

Not so very long ago, I wanted to stop time.

You were growing fast, way too fast.

Stopping time meant you would need me forever.

And now you are eight.

And I'm not sure what I want time to do.

I'll be honest, there are some phases I'd like to fast-forward.

And others I wish would never end.

Not so very long ago, you taught me what it meant to be a mother.

That it's more than feeding choices and sleeping schedules.

It's more than stressing over vaccinations and school decisions.

And now you are eight.

And now I know that being a mother is an amazing gift.

One that keeps surprising me.  Keeps me on my toes.

One that will forever bind me to you.

I love you forever, I'll like you for always.  As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.

Happy birthday my precious Princess #1!

Murphy, You Are Not Nice!

Dear Murphy,

Really?  REALLY?

OK, I know you think you're all funny and stuff, but really?

Was it necessary to make our van break down this week?

We're kinda busy, and in case you haven't noticed, we have a heck of a lot of people to cart around.

So it's sorta inconvenient.

Not to mention incredibly rude.

And how did you know we had just paid our van off THIS WEEK?

We paid it off a whole year in advance.  We thought we had tricked you.

We should have had a whole year before you tried to strike.

But you were one step ahead.

I hate you.  Really.

It seems sorta cruel to wait until two days AFTER our last payment clears to throw a monkey wrench in, literally.

So don't be surprised if your name is taken in vain a lot right now.

You are not our favorite.

Don't take it personally.

Well, actually, DO.  Because you are not nice and I don't like you.

BabyCenter 'Ain't Got Nothin' On Me!

I received some great comments on my recent post, Imagine.  One in particular was so great in fact, that it inspired a whole new post.  It was left by the lovely Lana at Mommies Lost Her Mind.  If you've never been to her blog, be sure to go check her out and leave some love.  Lana was one of my very first ever bloggy friends and I love reading about what's going on in her life with 3 princesses of her own!

Anyway, Lana left this comment for me:

"Ha!  I totally agree.  What I find to be funny is that when my kids were babies and toddlers I was always getting these helpful little parenting emails.  Now that I could probably actually use them?  Nada."

I used to get those "Your Baby This Week/Month/Year" emails from Babycenter.com too.  Well Lana, I thought I'd take it upon myself to draft up a little "Parenting Email Update" Babycenter.com style, for those of us delving into the world of non-babies.  I hope this is what you were looking for (wink! wink!).

Congratulations!  Your child is now 8 years old!

How they're growing:  faster than humanly possible.  You might consider stocking up in cheap flip flops because they won't be able to wear shoes longer than 6 months at most.  But don't expect this trend in growth to be reflected in their eating habits.  Although they will constantly complain about being hungry, they will be very particular about the food that they eat and will make dinnertime your worst nightmare because you failed to once again serve macaroni and cheese (for the 5th time that week).


What they're learning:  how to master the eye roll and smart aleck response.  They will begin to amaze you with their ability to appear to hear what you're asking them to do and yet completely and utterly ignore said request.  They are old enough at this point to completely understand cause and effect but the good old fashioned time out rarely works anymore and only until you threaten to take away their ipod or DS will they actually take you seriously.


What they're feeling:  God only knows!  Welcome to the tumultuous times of the pre-pre-teen.  Hormones are raging and often when you ask "what's wrong" you will be answered with a very helpful "I don't know!".  Triggers can range from traumatic (failing a test) to completely not a big deal (sister got to wear a dress and I didn't).  Be prepared to be completely clueless in how to navigate these waters because what worked last time won't work this time.  Just sayin'.  The good news?  You've got about 10 more years to master coping techniques!


How your life is changing:  buckle up and hang on for the ride.  Love, love, love on them.  Allow yourself the freedom to mourn the loss of your baby and revel in the young person standing before you.  Laugh with them, cry with them, hold them when they need to be held.  No longer a baby, not yet an adult.  You are still mama.  And always will be.


*remember each child develops at their own rate.  Some lucky mamas get to experience all this sooner than others!




My friends, if you were to draft a "parenting email update", what would it say?

Saturday Shout-Outs!

I know, I'm so boring this weekend! First a Friday Flashback and now Saturday Shout-Outs!  What's next, Sunday Skip?  Possibly...  ha!  Bear with me, I'm still at my childbirth educator's workshop, but I plan to be back next week with all sorts of interesting and fun things to share.  In the meantime, check out a couple of my favorite posts from some of my favorite people who happen to also be fabulous bloggers:

The Upperclassmen by Mama at The Elmo Wallpaper

Oh how Mama perfectly articulates so much of what I'm feeling right now!  I may still have a (half) baby at home, but those days are quickly racing by and I'm finding myself wishing for my freshman year.

Forgiveness by Jess at Chirp and Buzz and Roar

You won't see much new from Jess these days as she is taking a blogging break, but this post by her has been engrained in my head since I first read it and it's definitely worth a look.

And before you run away, please go visit one of the newest bloggers I've run across and am already in love with (really, her blog makes wanna be crunchy heart go pitter pat):  

LaLa at Medium Food Mama 

My friends, do you have a favorite post or a new blog you've discovered that you'd like to share?