Monthly Archives: May 2009

Happy Mama’s Day, to Mothers Everywhere!

Posted on by
Reply

I hope you had a wonderful day with your Chillies today. I did.

It started out a little bit rocky, when I picked them up this morning and had a hash brown misunderstanding/tragedy between McDonald’s and Kohl’s, where we went to get Grandma a present.

Some *other* Mama might have thought silently to herself, “HAPPY FREAKING MOTHER’S DAY,” while taking deep breaths and trying to remain calm, but not me. (Cough! Cough!)

My gifts were charming – hand crafted with much love. I got drawings, writings, the traditional hand print, as well as a Fimo necklace my daughter made just for me, using my favorite colors.

I learned that I have been named TIME Magazine’s “Mother of the Year.” This is a humbling honor, and I really enjoyed reading the documentation of what earned me such an accolade.

See? Mother of the Year! Yay, me!

See? Mother of the Year! Yay, me!

I think it is a little funny that she thinks I'm most beautiful when I am not in her line of sight at all... Hmm.. :-)

I think it is a little funny that she thinks I'm most beautiful when I am not in her line of sight at all... Hmm.. :-)

The kids chose thoughtful gifts for Grandma as well. Drue picked a sterling silver ring with a heart charm and one that said “Love.” Boo picked out some brown polka-dot socks.

We had a wonderful day. Good food, good family, lots of laughing, a web-conference with my brother and sister-in-law in Boston and some loud, screaming rocket balloons that are now stuck in the tall trees of my mom and dad’s neighbor. Oops! Sorry!

Take Care of Yourself, Mama.

Posted on by
Reply

I’m kind of a freak about breast cancer. My very own Mama continues to wage war against it, my Grandma had it, my Great-Aunt just had a mastectomy last week, I’ve been involved (in years past) with the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and I have an overall, daily, general concern with Women’s health.

I’m avid about my monthly self exams. Do it. Check yourself.

Checking yourself isn’t enough, though. You need to get your annual exam. Tell your doctor everything. Don’t lie about your lifestyle.

I’m digging this humorous site (with a very serious message) and want all Mamas to check it out, but more importantly, follow Noreen Fraser’s advice:

http://www.noreenfraserfoundation.org/

Go get your Mam and your Pap. Do it.

You need it, and your kids need you.

Are you a SMOTB? (Single Mama on the Block?)

Posted on by
1

First, let me clarify that by block, I am referring to your immediate household surroundings. In my case, “the Block” is a suburban neighborhood (that I will also refer to as “the ‘Hood” from time to time.)

In my case, unless I am missing someone, (for which I am very sorry) I am the Pioneering SMOTB. This is not an immediately pleasant position, if you haven’t experienced it for yourself.

Immediate neighbors and friends aside, the people who know me as only the sad, unfortunate divorcee OTB treat me differently than other MOTB.

**OR SO I THOUGHT.**

I was living in a strange place for a while.

Right off the bat, when I took on my same life with a different marital status, I perceived the reactions of other Kindergarten moms as dismissive, and in some cases even negatively judgmental, despite my efforts at friendly chatter.

Am I right or wrong about that?

Recently, I have decided to discard that mentality (and more likely than not, paranoia).

It isn’t worth it. I’m glad I’m still that Mama on the Block, and more than anything else, I’m still me. My kids matter, and not much else should. My friends know me, and if someone chooses not to know me because of a situation they really know nothing about, so be it!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Reply

Meaningful Mother’s Day Ideas

Posted on by
Reply

Do you have Mother’s Day dilemmas?

Not Sure What to do for Your Own Mom?

  • Flowers – just one, or a few. You can get a sweet bunch of flowers for $5 or less at your local grocery store. I haven’t yet met a woman who doesn’t appreciate blooms!
  • Frame a photo of you as a child with your mom. Even if she has it in an album somewhere, resurfacing a family classic in a new frame will show her you cherish your childhood memories, and reawaken some memories of her own.
  • Make her dinner. Invite her over, or take it to her. You don’t have to get fancy, just make her favorite dish and serve it to her!

Do Your Kids Need Help Arranging for Your Own Mother’s Day Surprise?

Usually, schools and daycares provide the chance for kids to make you a Mother’s day gift you will love and adore. However, my daughter has asked me a couple of times now if she can shop for me.

I have the perfect gift-shopping solution for this situation and any other family birthday or occasion:

The Dollar Store.

It’s like a dream come true for a child! If you give the kids a limit (like $1) they have a tendency to focus as they walk through the store, trying very hard to choose a gift that is appropriate for the recipient. My kids have purchased some awfully cute and thoughtful items for people at the Dollar Tree. A screwdriver for Grandpa, a ceramic sculpture for Grandma… It doesn’t matter what they pick, they feel pride that they get to pick a special present.

What are you doing for Mother’s Day this year? What fun and meaningful traditions do you have with your family?

I Am Not Chronically Bedraggled.

Posted on by
Reply

Whenever I feel completely zapped, I think of the word “bedraggled.”

What a lovely, and perfectly descriptive word for the way I feel on the random day like today.

Let’s start with te definition: (Dictionary.com)
be·drag·gled (b?-dr?g’?ld) adj.
1. a. Wet; limp.
b. Soiled by or as if by having been dragged through mud.
2. Being in a condition of deterioration; dilapidated: a street of bedraggled tenements.

There’s nothing about the actual definition that doesn’t fit the sound of the word, if you ask me. As someone who appreciates our language, (fine, I’m a geek) I love it when a word’s definition matches its sound. I think “haggard” (look it up yourself) and “halitosis” are in the same category.

So, having said that, today I feel bedraggled.

In the past two days my son has broken his finger with a fantastic show of grotesqueness, slamming it in the door and wriggling as I ran to his side, taking a moment to realize he’d need to open the door to free himself. This was on a Sunday, and was followed up with a trip to the Children’s Hospital ER.

Trip to ER on May 2, 2009 = Nervous realization that there are “Swine People” (sorry, I’m sure I’ll get zinged for that) all around. On the bright side, I’m not sure if it was the nature of Boo’s injury or the segregation of injury and infectious, but we were in and out rather quickly. Finger confirmed to be fractured. Splint administered and ordered for a week.(Snort!) Children promptly bathed and sanitized in every way I could think of, on the way out and once we got home.

Due to the promise of today being worse than yesterday in terms of “smashed finger pain,” I stayed home with Boo. When he woke up, I hardly recognized the boy due to his allergies. I made a call to our doctor. He said “Come in.” We went in, and were greeted with this:

How long has THIS box been sitting around?

How long has THIS box been sitting around?

We learned Boo’s allergic fate, which isn’t that promising, and got a tip from a reliable source at the clinic that we should “skedaddle” on out of there, as someone with “swine symptoms” was coming in soon.

There it is: I AM BEDRAGGLED.

I’ll be over it by tomorrow at some point.