Losing the Princess Battle

Like many little girls, I wanted to be a princess. I wanted to wear a pointy crown and pretty ball gown dresses.  I wanted to wear white gloves to tea and banquets.  I wanted to find prince charming and live happily ever after in a castle.

As I got older and the Princess Epidemic began to take root, I grew to hate princesses, specifically those of the Disney variety.   When I had my daughter, I vowed not to let her fall victim to the same princesses I grew up watching on tv. After spending a week in Disneyworld, I realize It was not so much the princess movies that I objected to, as much as the mind frame that many of today’s little girls have regarding being a princess.  It is the selfish, self centered, lazy,diva attitude that many little girls are developing, the very UN-princess-like behavior  that drove me away from the princesses that I once loved.

Things I've picked up along the way.

I realized, while getting ready for bed, that there are some odd things that I do. 
For example, I never wear my socks to bed. Do you know why? Well, obviously because I've been walking around my house all day picking up filth on them and I would never want to put that into my bed! It is for the same reason that I can never wear the clothing, that I wore out of the house, to bed. You wouldn't want the same pair of pants that you rode the subway in, no matter how comfy, to climb into your bed, right?

Slow Week

Sorry dear readers. It's a slow week. Between all the germs at Mommy L's house and Mommy J, Daddy J and Honeybee being on vacation, we'll be a little light on the posts. But I promise you all that there will be LOTS that will be written about next week. (Especially with all the lovely displays of FABULOUS parenting here at Disney World!)

Mommy J

Is it Monday yet?

Mommy L's house has been an little crazy lately.

It's Daddy L's long Thurs-Sun work "weekend" and he won't have any time off until Monday. Meanwhile, I picked up some additional shifts at work and had to scramble to find sitters since our schedules overlapped.

We (Mommy L, Munchkin, and Pumpkin) have dealt with our 2nd round of strep throat -. Still wondering how Daddy L avoided it and fingers crossed that we didn't share it with anybody at Mommy J's house!

Today Pumpkin seems to have some sort of Stomach bug. Unfortunately for my brother, he is the one babysitting today. He has been puked on no less than 4 times today. He's taking it like a champ. To quote him " don't worry about it, the puke has become less smelly and gross as the day has gone on haha". My wonderful brother even gave the baby a bath.

I am really thankful that I have such great family to help us out and I can't even begin to imagine how single mothers do it all by themselves. I have SO MUCH respect for all of you single mommies (and single daddies too!)

I am just counting the minutes until Monday...

Mommy J's Rant

So the other day I'm sitting there in the nail salon and there are two other customers who are having a conversation - across the room from each other. That, I'm ok with, although I would prefer to be sitting in my massage chair  getting my pedicure with less noise, it is not the fact they are talking that is bothering me. It is the content of their conversation that is irritating me to no end.  


Let me describe the scene first. Customer A looks like a 50-something year old Snookie wannabe complete with big poofy bump hair, oversized sunglasses and day-glo orange spray tan. Customer B, well, lets just say Tammy Faye Baker comes to mind.

My baby is growing up...

My baby is growing up!  She's become so independent. Today, she did something I thought would not happen for several more years, you know, not until she was like 30.

Mommy J's Random thought for the day....March 21, 2011

I won a contest! I'm so excited! I never win anything!!!

Is it completely sad that I won a book on organizing and I am this excited....  Yeah probably.

Have a happy Monday everyone.

Mommy J

Mommy Time

I love spending time with Honeybee. She's a great child. But every once and a while mommies need to get out for some much needed pampering time. And by this I don't necessarily mean a day at the spa but some time spent without 25 pounds of wiggley toddler climbing all over you.

A Sad Sunday

Dear Mommies and Daddies,

Hug your children tonight and every night and don't forget to tell them how much you love them.

My heart goes out to three different families who have lost their babies today.  

Mommy J

The Mommies are Fighting!

Today, Mommy J and I were talking on the phone. Somehow I ended up, semi-jokingly, asking her "I'm not socially awkward, am I?" the response I get was:

"Of all the things I'd call you, Awkward is not one of them. Anxious- yes, nervous- yes, crazy- yes, paranoid- sometimes, but awkward- no."

Thanks Mommy J! Now I know what you really think of me! This is WAR!

Ok fine, I can't stay mad at my sister for longer than 30 seconds and all those things she said are (probably?) true. The Mommies aren't really fighting. But we sure had a good laugh this afternoon.

It's a Bird... It's a Plane... Oh Geez it's My Kid!

My 4 year old just came over and requested I put some "sticky stuff" on his hands. Upon further inquiry he revealed to me that he would like me to put sticky stuff on his hands so that he could climb the wall and crawl across the ceiling.

Then he asks me. "would you be scared?" I would be terrified, but really because of that horrific scene in the awful movie "Legion" where the Granny turns into a demon and crawls across the ceiling. Thanks for the imagery, Munchkin!

This got me thinking about what little high energy daredevils I have on my hands. The two of them fly across the family room, jumping from sofa to love seat, and even my 16 month old is figuring out somersaults on his own. They slide down the tallest slide at the playground without a fear. The next thing I know, I will have the fire department here pulling them down from the roof!

I wonder if it is a "boy" thing, or just my boys. Other parents keep telling me that it's just in their nature to be so energetic and fearless. I think there is some truth to it. When we have playdates with little girls I am amazed at the difference. Even Mommy J has told me that if they have another kid, and it is a boy, she won't be able to keep up!

Then again, the last time Mommy J's daughter was here, she was climbing up the outside of the stairs, holding onto the spindles. Maybe if I have a girls someday, she will be the one hanging from the chandelier.

Mommy J's Random thought for the day.... March 18, 2011

Dear Roomba,

I love you. I do! You make my life so much easier! While it is great that you can get all the dust bunnies under the furniture, do you think maybe, just maybe, you could get the middle of the floors once in a while?

Also, I realize it's not fun to stare at the corner of the room all day, when you're not supercleaning my floors. But what if I gave you a window view, would it be too much to ask that you dock yourself, like you're supposed to be able to do?

Thanks!

Mommy J


Disclosure: I have no affiliation with IRobot/ Roomba and have received no compensation or other incentive to write about this product.  Daddy J bought me one for my birthday.

Housework Hooky

Today was too nice a day to do chores!  It's been a long winter- bitter cold, 15 foot snow drifts - you get the picture. Out of nowhere, today was a balmy 68 degrees and sunny!  I made the executive decision that the best place for Honeybee and I was outdoors: so we spent the entire day playing outside.   Of course waiting patiently inside for me were piles of dishes, mountains of laundry, floors in need of sweeping  and toys EVERYWHERE. Oh well. The chores can wait. My house may be a mess but Honeybee had a great day!  And I think sometimes that's what matters most.

(Sorry that's all you get today - writing also took the backseat!)

You named it... What??

No, not the baby, but Bugaboo named their new double stroller:

The Donkey!

Yes, this may be old news. Stroller fanatics have known of the Donkey's impending arrival for months, but an email invite to the Donkey Launch Party from a local baby store has stirred up these horrified and intrigued emotions once again.

Children May Say the Darndest Things - But Grown-Ups Say the Stupidest

I came across this article the other day. http://www.boston.com/community/moms/gallery/shocking_parenting_comments/

Although these were hysterically funny, (and I highly recommend you read them) it hit a nerve with me for a few reasons.

First, I was raised to be polite and have impeccable manners. (Thank you Mom and Dad)  Now, I have been known to put my foot in my mouth on occasion, but I DO try to make sure I think about what I say before I say it. 

Second, this has happened to me, Mommy L, our mother and so many other moms we know on so many occasions.   I don’t know whether people just don’t think before they talk or if they really just are ignorant and stupid, but the things people say to a parent are downright astounding.

Today we’ll share some of our favorites:

Ugly Sweater= Cute Baby Pants

Usually I start a project and get about 60% finished and then abandon it. I don't actually know much about sewing and frankly patterns scare me. The finality of cutting out the pieces is just terrifying.

Even so, the other day I decided I was going to make recycled wool pants for the baby. I found plenty of patterns for wool soakers and wool longies online, but not exactly what I was looking for.

Mommy J's Random thought for the day....March 14, 2011

Sometimes I wonder why I bother to sweep the floor at all, because inevitably I turn around and there are a goldfish cracker crumbs everywhere. 

Oh yes, now I remember!

No Matter How I Try....

I am not an organized person. I strive to be. I try really hard- I do! But I inevitably end up failing miserable at it.  yesterday, for instance, I was  doing great. Honeybee was invited to a birthday party. Now, I'm usually the one flying out the door with my coat half off, bag on my shoulder, other necessities tucked under one arm and a child under the other. If I'm Lucky, Honeybee has 2 shoes on - or at least 2 shoes come with us. For birthdays our usual routine is leave early and scramble to pick up a birthday present, gift bag and tissue paper, and wrap the present in the car before we enter the party.

Teething Bling: A Must Have for Mommies

I don't know how many of you lost the ability to wear jewelry when your first child was born. It took about 3 or 4 months until I could actually fit my wedding ring on my finger. Then I was terrified to wear it anyway for fear of scratching my tiny Munchkin's face. As Munchkin got older I found that anything dangling was going to be pulled off, or ripped out (ouch!) by some sneaky little hands.

Bad Mommy Moment

Ok, so here is my bad mommy moment for the day.

I was sitting and grading papers this morning and my almost 2 year old Honeybee starts calling  from the next room "Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy" as she has been for the past few days.  

Mommy? 

Yes dear. (Still grading.)

Mommy of the Year!

So I've been feeling pretty awesome about my parenting skills lately. There are times when I really start to think I've finally figured things out and then reality smacks me in the face- I will never have it all figured out. I think I will be lucky if I get things done "just good enough" and hopefully without causing any permanent psychological damage to my two boys.

This past week for example:

What are we getting ourselves into?

Welcome to Mommies Being Mommies: The good, the bad and everything else we have learned along the way. We are two sisters and friends raising our kids in the suburbs and being mediocre parents.  Ok, so maybe we are doing better than mediocre, but it doesn't always feel that way.  We've had our share of victories and failures, moments of brilliance and moments of idiocy (otherwise known as Mommy Brain). We've felt like Supermom at times and Mom-trocity at other times.

In our quest to become the perfect parents we have more than likely