The "Other mother"

I love this blog post I saw on the Power of Moms site today.

http://powerofmoms.com/2013/04/the-other-mothers/

She talks about not comparing yourself to others and being proud of what you're acomplishing instead of worrying about what you're not doing. Although she does talk about being grateful she's not the mom that lets her kid pee at the park, never has a clean house, yells at their kids, doesn't go to dental checkups and doesn't accesorize. EEK! I really felt incredibly judged by those words of hers ;)

But seriously, I was speaking with Karley about how we are SO glad that we just don't care what anyone thinks about us anymore. Which I think is the main reason we can get together and act like complete idiots and just love ourselves anyway. This is something that comes with age, so on the one hand it's sad because I'm aging (boo hoo) but it's also very freeing and I love the stage of life I'm in.

I will proudly tell you that my house is messy 90% of the time, my kids absolutely pee behind the trees, trashcans etc, I yell more than I care to admit (although thanks to orange rhino I am doing much better) I HATE the dentist *more on that later, I only accesorize on occasion and most of the time the bottoms of my feet are so dirty I leave footprints in the shower! Phew true confessions.....thank you for letting me get that off my chest ;)

I have learned what is worth my time and what isn't.

Por ejemplo: I hate crafts, but I love reading to my kids. I don't love playing pretend but I love all kinds of games and puzzles. I hate the PTA (which I really learned this year from being on a committee for the first time in my life) but I will gladly accompany my kids on a class outing. I love to cook but I HATE to clean. Have I told you that before? So, I feel like I have really been able to embrace what I love and do the things I hate on a less frequent basis (except for the cleaning...boo!)

I have absolutely been jealous of the other mothers and I absolutely still have moments especially when I see an exceptionally patient and or hot mom, but I have learned to get over it and if it's such a big deal to me then who says I can't improve upon it. The only thing I have yet to embrace is my love handles. Hate them and always will.

Bottom line/moral of the story....LOVE YOURSELF!!! Peaceout.

PS Let others know your weaknesses once in a while. You never know who you could be helping by letting them know that seemingly put together people gots issues too! Tru.

Maple Syrup Farm

On my birthday I decided I wanted to go to a maple syrup farm. They had a (gross) pancake breakfast but thankfully we are snobs and I made gluten free pancakes in advance :)

It was a darling farm, sorry I totally forgot the name of it and am too lazy to look it up. But it used to be a big milk farm until the 60's when darn government regulations on milk drove it out of business. The following is going to be an amazing example of my love of capturing every moment with my children. (aka I took 5 pictures the whole time)

 

 

Ev was happily steering away on the tractor when a reporter from a huge famous newspaper that shall remain nameless (OK it was called the podunk times for the town of Dunkville) wanted to take a picture of the cute little boy on the tractor. Please note his expression below when she started calling to him and snapping away.

He is dumbstruck. Or maybe it was because she was such a famous reporter/photographer. I really think he could have a career in modeling, don't you?

Snow Day!

We only had 1 snowstorm of any significance this year and that was just fine with me. I really dislike the cold and that is putting it nicely. When I was a kid Alicia could spend hours playing in the snow with those cheap dollar store gloves and never ever complain and I would have ski gloves and wool socks and be crying after half an hour. Playing in the snow has never been my thing but I do LOVE to sled!



We decided to go up to Inwood Park since we knew central park would be crazy and based on pictures from friends it was insane! We were the only ones in the whole area which was awesome and so beautiful since there was not a single footprint when we got there.

 

 

Evan wasn't quite sure what to make of the white stuff.

 

 

Cannon LOVES the snow and is such a kid in it....love that :)

There was a lot of awkward standing around for Evan that day.

 

 

I swear I was there! Though I really didn't want to be....I totally faked a smile for posterity. Morning sickness is (was) the WORST!!

We made short work of that pristine snow :)

Just hanging, putting out the vibe.

Cute boy

I got a box in the mail and Evan claimed it right away as his own. Seriously, he spent an hour in it. It was heavenly.

Levi's Party!

Once again I am behind on pictures. I really haven't taken too many photos since December since I was too focused on surviving rather than documenting :)



Elyse made a pinata for Levi out of a Build a Bear box. She won't tell you this but she worked on it for about a week. It was decorated on all sides and was a labor of love :)



She was also the brainchild behind the whole party from the decor to the games.

We played musical chairs with her accompanying on the ukulele.

Pin the Glasses on the Spy. And habla chancho but those photos are a bit too awkwward to post ;)

Now for the moment.....

She doesn't look too happy that her pinata is getting ruined :(

The crew.

 I kept it really small this year because I just didn't have the desire or energy to do anything bigger. It was 90min long and super simple. In a small space I think it's a necessity to keep it short and sweet. Even by the time the parents came everyone was going crazy so I'm glad it wasn't 2 hrs!

Happy 6th Birthday Levers....we love you!!

Too cute.

Just some random cuteness for your day. Evman trying to play recorder in the nude, with his nose :)

 

Cars in the city

As you know from diligently reading every word of my blog, we got a car last fall. Not just any car....a Suburban. 

This has presented many problems. Some of which are that parking in the city is redonkulous and gas prices are refronkulous.

Parking is always fun in NYC but when your car is the length of 2 cars it is a major pain in the arse. What makes it doubly fun is that in our neighborhood there are literally 3 streets that you can park on during the day without paying. And on Saturdays they cut out all of the Muni Meter parking on 2 Ave so that means that everyone coming to my hood for lunch is parking on those 3 streets. When you do get a spot you feel like you hit the lottery! But it is still worth having a car in the city. We love it even though we only use it on the weekends it is nice to know that if I want to go on a roadie I can.

Did you know that the muni meter in midtown is twice as expensive as in the Heights? And New Haven? Oy!! 

The pros to this particular car are that there is so much space! We love the space and it is SO darn comfortable to ride in. We had been considering a Yukon before we decided on the Burban and I'm so glad we didn't get it because the Yukon's trunk is non existent! 

Peace out. 

And remember to watch General Conference this weekend....we are stoked!!

Laws

I don't normally post political stuff just in case "they" are monitoring me ;)

But I saw this video on Facebook and couldn't resist. This is basically the whole country in a nutshell regarding our healthcare, food system, Monsanto etc.

Orange Rhino

Just an update for all those who care. I have been stellar on my no yelling challenge. I have 355 days to go and I am holding strong. I have scolded and given mean looks but other than a time or two (when I quickly stopped) I have not yelled. Yay me. Peace.