Lately I've been finding myself questioning how people without kids act around us or our schedule. Sometimes i get annoyed but then it usually makes me laugh. How easily I have forgotten those easy days before I had kids. Had I known then what I know now u would have- (no! Not gone without kids) I would have enjoyed those quiet moments more. Here is one of my many lists comparing how us parents think vs how DINKS (double income no kids) think.
Traffic: DINK "I hate traffic! I just wanna get home" US "I hope there's some traffic so I can take my time getting home and have some quiet time"
7:00pm: DINK "what should we do for dinner after this nice glass of wine? the new sushi restaurant or order in?"
US "oh God it's only 7? I have a whole hour before I can get these monsters to bed and watch something other than Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Spongebob!"
7:00am- DINKS "oh I think I'll watch the news and then go for a jog before having a nice long shower"
US "OMG I have to pee but they are still miraculously asleep so I refuse to move from this spot in case I might accidentally wake someone up".
DINKS- "my dogs are the people I love most in the world"
US- "I never knew I could love (a real) person so much, I could sit here and stare at him/her for hours"
I would say parents are the lucky ones even with all the craziness and crying I would take it any day over a jog and a glass of wine. After all that's what long weekends away while the kids are with Grandma are for.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
My Mommy Brain
The other day i was sitting by the pool with Joe as the kids are swimming. I was having my usual thoughts but this time I was saying them out loud to Joe. I soon realized he was looking at me like I was crazy. Then I realized the poor guy is a dad and a man so he is lost. Here's why.
As any of you who are mothers know it is is hard work to be a mommy. There is a lot of things to juggle and balance. There are messes to clean, dishes to do, errands to run, preschool to register for and do many other things. Lately though I've realized I have a lot of mommy worries. Some of them seem completely irrelevant and silly while others are deep. Here are just a few. If you have some of this pleae feel free to post yours so we can all feel normal!
- Do they have enough sunscreen on? Is it expired? When should I re-apply?
- are they getting enough veggies? Fruits? Do they eat too many processed foods? Should I only buy organic, non GMO foods? Can I afford that?
- Are they reading for the right amount if time each day? Is Mady reading at the right level? Is she up to par in school? Does she have enough friends? Is she confident?
- Do I play with them enough? Do I play with them too much?
- Do they watch appropriate shows for their age? Do they watch too much TV?
- Which activities should I sign them up for? How many is too many activities? Will they be we'll rounded enough?
- Will we be able to afford college?
- Will we be able to afford Disney World before they are too old to enjoy it? What time of year should we go to DW?
- Do they know they are loved? Am I smothering them? Will Noah be a mamma's boy?
- Are they spoiled? Do they need more toys? Are they deprived?
- Is Noah playing too close to the stairs? Is that bruise on his head something to worry about? What is this lump on her side? How long before you run them to the E.R. in any given case?
Anyway you get the point. There is of course much more and don't even get me started on this whole end of the world thing...we'll save that for another blog.
Our minds are always going. As long as we know in our hearts we are doing the best we can. Oh and in the words of my own mom "As long as everyone gets out alive that's all that matters".
As any of you who are mothers know it is is hard work to be a mommy. There is a lot of things to juggle and balance. There are messes to clean, dishes to do, errands to run, preschool to register for and do many other things. Lately though I've realized I have a lot of mommy worries. Some of them seem completely irrelevant and silly while others are deep. Here are just a few. If you have some of this pleae feel free to post yours so we can all feel normal!
- Do they have enough sunscreen on? Is it expired? When should I re-apply?
- are they getting enough veggies? Fruits? Do they eat too many processed foods? Should I only buy organic, non GMO foods? Can I afford that?
- Are they reading for the right amount if time each day? Is Mady reading at the right level? Is she up to par in school? Does she have enough friends? Is she confident?
- Do I play with them enough? Do I play with them too much?
- Do they watch appropriate shows for their age? Do they watch too much TV?
- Which activities should I sign them up for? How many is too many activities? Will they be we'll rounded enough?
- Will we be able to afford college?
- Will we be able to afford Disney World before they are too old to enjoy it? What time of year should we go to DW?
- Do they know they are loved? Am I smothering them? Will Noah be a mamma's boy?
- Are they spoiled? Do they need more toys? Are they deprived?
- Is Noah playing too close to the stairs? Is that bruise on his head something to worry about? What is this lump on her side? How long before you run them to the E.R. in any given case?
Anyway you get the point. There is of course much more and don't even get me started on this whole end of the world thing...we'll save that for another blog.
Our minds are always going. As long as we know in our hearts we are doing the best we can. Oh and in the words of my own mom "As long as everyone gets out alive that's all that matters".
Big News
I haven't blogged in awhile. A lot of times I wonder if anyone is even reading them or if this is just a diary. I have gotten some really nice feedback lately so I am going to try an keep up with it.So onto the big news. We have made the final decision to move back to Colorado in August. For several reasons.
A major deciding factor is that when we decided to move it was all dependant on Joe getting a good job in order to afford living here. He got a great job initially with a small restaurant in Boston that had just expanded to New York. After 60 days working there however, they closed the doors to the Wall Street restaurant and laid off 30 people including Joe. We decided not to get discouraged and he was out on the job hunt immediately. By the first week of January he was offered another great job at a high end retirement community that was expanding. Everything was still on for us to come from Colorado. Unfortunately another 60 days later he was laid off due to over hiring and a stall in construction. Since that time he has been unable to find anything comparable. Obviously we need a (good) income to survive as a family but that was not the final reason for our move.
It's really been no secret that I have been struggling with our move. My sister had me re-read the first entry from the morning after I moved and she said it was sad because it's so far from what I have been feeling in the past couple months. It is.
I made the decision to move here because I thought it would be a good place to raise our children around his big family. It sounds hokey butt I wanted the "Village" feeling. Soon after we got here we realized that his family is not as big as we remember when you are here day to day. When we would visit it would be a big to-do. There would be family in from Ohio and Florida and other people would visit. We have had a piece of that this Summer but it not like that all the time. I guess we were naive. I have really enjoyed seeing the kids with the family here especially my mother in law, Sheila.
Finally, we have just come to the conclusion that we consider Colorado to be home. We miss our friends and family dearly. We loved the school the kids went to and we miss the friends and teachers from Dry Creek Elementary.
The kids have done really well with the move here and we pray they do just as well with the move back. It has taken a toll on Joe and I though and our hope is that we can get back to the life we loved in Colorado. I do not regret the decision to move here. I have learned a lot about what I want and what I can do without. We know that if we didn't move here we would continue to wonder for years "What if...". For now we are back to my parent's basement until we find permanent work and a place of our own. Oh boy!!!
A major deciding factor is that when we decided to move it was all dependant on Joe getting a good job in order to afford living here. He got a great job initially with a small restaurant in Boston that had just expanded to New York. After 60 days working there however, they closed the doors to the Wall Street restaurant and laid off 30 people including Joe. We decided not to get discouraged and he was out on the job hunt immediately. By the first week of January he was offered another great job at a high end retirement community that was expanding. Everything was still on for us to come from Colorado. Unfortunately another 60 days later he was laid off due to over hiring and a stall in construction. Since that time he has been unable to find anything comparable. Obviously we need a (good) income to survive as a family but that was not the final reason for our move.
It's really been no secret that I have been struggling with our move. My sister had me re-read the first entry from the morning after I moved and she said it was sad because it's so far from what I have been feeling in the past couple months. It is.
I made the decision to move here because I thought it would be a good place to raise our children around his big family. It sounds hokey butt I wanted the "Village" feeling. Soon after we got here we realized that his family is not as big as we remember when you are here day to day. When we would visit it would be a big to-do. There would be family in from Ohio and Florida and other people would visit. We have had a piece of that this Summer but it not like that all the time. I guess we were naive. I have really enjoyed seeing the kids with the family here especially my mother in law, Sheila.
Finally, we have just come to the conclusion that we consider Colorado to be home. We miss our friends and family dearly. We loved the school the kids went to and we miss the friends and teachers from Dry Creek Elementary.
The kids have done really well with the move here and we pray they do just as well with the move back. It has taken a toll on Joe and I though and our hope is that we can get back to the life we loved in Colorado. I do not regret the decision to move here. I have learned a lot about what I want and what I can do without. We know that if we didn't move here we would continue to wonder for years "What if...". For now we are back to my parent's basement until we find permanent work and a place of our own. Oh boy!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)