That's pretty much been my life for the past few weeks. Family coming in for a birthday party, gearing up for Halloween, clipping coupons and planning my grocery store trips like I'm cramming for some weird final, and Mike got a promotion. So let's break it down (but you gotta say like the crazy guy on Yo Gabba Gabba)...
So Zoe turned 4 on October 20th and we had a great turn out for her costume party! WOOT WOOT! Princesses, super heroes, animals...it was great! And with birthdays comes family which brings insane amounts of cleaning the house so the in-laws don't think you are some kind of wacko who is leaving their child and grandchildren neglected and starving. My in-laws don't think that way, but that's what goes through my mind whenever they are coming into town. The house never gets as clean as I would like it, I seriously need a maid. And since Halloween is right around the corner, we carved pumpkins! Hurray! Unfortunately, we had about 3 days of rain and they all turned to moldy mush...not fun. Plus I have also decided to be super cheap with my candy giving this year...I'm handing out all my left over candy from last year first. So don't come to my house expecting anything super yummy, cause that ain't happenin'. Hahaha!
And coupoing is going really well! I saved over $100 today. Yup, I'm serious. Over one hundred dollars. Awesome, especially since I had to get things that aren't every time items, like dog food, toilet paper, and contact solution. In fact, listen to this: I had 2 $1 off coupons for Ronzoni Garden Delight pasta, and this week that pasta is buy one get one free at Publix. That Ronzoni pasta was regularly $1.79 but when it is BOGO, Publix makes each box half price! So that means each box was 89cents, and when I used my $1 off coupons for each box...well, you see the math! I got 2 boxes of pasta for FREE and the 22cents change (11cents per box) was taken off the rest of the bill! Now THAT is how couponing works! I got other awesome deals, like 4 cans of Cambells Select Soup for $2.80 total, and Tyson AnyTizers that are normally $9 a bag for $3.50 a bag. So I'm very satisfied with the results so far. Even with the time it takes to prepare for the shopping trip, it is so worth it. Now I just need to get to the point where I have enough coupons for each item that I can stock up on things to last me to the next sale. Although, I've noticed that if one brand of tuna is on sale this week, next week the competitor brand is on sale, so it seems to work itself out as long as I am flexible with the brand.
And Mike got a promotion, or is going to be getting a promotion in the coming months. Either way it is great news. More job security and stability. Good things! However, I am truly beginning to understand why all the other wives call themselves Key Property widows. His already long days are being pulled even longer and this week (auction week) he is even gone on Saturdays.But all this training is good for him and in the long run it is good for our family. I just wish there was a better balance, oh well, it'll work out.
So those are the things that have been on my mind recently. Nothing to straining or deep or life changing, but time consuming and just apart of our every day lives.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Does a blog need a purpose?
I feel like every blog I hear about or read has a purpose. Whether the blogger is discussing politics or parenting, couponing or Christianity, they are all focused on one idea. My blog is nothing like that, I'll get a thought stuck in my head and if I can't get it out, I blog it. Which doesn't happen with too much consistency, obviously. Besides all that, I have too much going on in my mind to just focus on one theme all the time. Couple that with chasing kids around like a crazy person, and I don't really have the time to devote to one thing or another. So maybe I'll blog about different things on different days and try to fit it all in. I feel like I have a lot to talk about and since I don't get out much, this blog will have to be my voice.
Today's blog is about motherhood. It's important that you know that I can only speak for women and only of my experiences, I know that everyone is different and my opinions don't hold true for all people. It's funny how we have all these ideas about motherhood before we ever become one. When we are young we think motherhood is about being able to tell someone else what to do and as we get older we think, it'll be fun to have a kid cause we can play with them and let them do all the things our parents never let us do. Then as we get to the age where we could become mothers and we start to judge other women and how they are raising their kids saying, "Oh, I'd never do that." or "I can't believe they are letting their child behave that way!" Then we get that positive pregnancy test and things start to change, we start thinking about names and looks and personalities that our child might have and what we can do to influence those things. We take better care of ourselves in order to give our baby the best start in life, and this is just the beginning of the things we sacrifice for our kids.
Everyone hears about sacrificing for your child, and most people do it once they become mothers, but ideas are NOTHING compared to the truth. Giving up alcohol and junk food for veggies and vitamins is trivial compared to the things you give up after you leave the delivery room. It isn't just about the way your body changes and never goes back, the way that can make you feel, especially when your husband is no worse for wear and people like Heidi Klum strut their stuff on the Victoria's Secret cat walk 6 weeks postpartum. It isn't about the hormonal mood swings that come out of nowhere, cause while that diminishes slightly over time, it never goes away. It isn't about not having time for yourself anymore, when just as you get the baby to sleep and you try to lie down, the phone rings or dog barks and the baby is screaming again. It's everything. Literally, every THING in your life is now effected because you are a mother. And some things about motherhood are still only discussed in the doctor's office, which is good that the docs are talking about it, but you feel like a weirdo around your friends who have had kids and they never talk about them. Things like how much nursing hurts or about postpartum depression or about how your husband wants sex and you could care less. We don't hear about these things from our friends so when they happen to us, we are left feeling odd and alone. And beyond the infant stages we are constantly being challenged with lessons in patience, kindness, and self-control.
Kids are great, and the good things you hear about parenting are even better when you experience them, but I think sometimes we get so caught up in how great it is that we leave out the people who feel like some of it isn't so great, in fact, some of it stinks. And while we wouldn't trade our kids for what we have given up, we want to make sure that those thinking about becoming moms know the whole picture and aren't caught unawares when the perfect happy world they thought parenthood was becomes a nightmare. And for those women who think, "I'm going to be a great mom.", you'll have days where you aren't so sure. And those who think, "I will never let my children behave that way.", they will. And those who think, "I can't believe that mother is ignoring her crying child.", you'll learn to tune out the cries that don't matter.
Today's blog is about motherhood. It's important that you know that I can only speak for women and only of my experiences, I know that everyone is different and my opinions don't hold true for all people. It's funny how we have all these ideas about motherhood before we ever become one. When we are young we think motherhood is about being able to tell someone else what to do and as we get older we think, it'll be fun to have a kid cause we can play with them and let them do all the things our parents never let us do. Then as we get to the age where we could become mothers and we start to judge other women and how they are raising their kids saying, "Oh, I'd never do that." or "I can't believe they are letting their child behave that way!" Then we get that positive pregnancy test and things start to change, we start thinking about names and looks and personalities that our child might have and what we can do to influence those things. We take better care of ourselves in order to give our baby the best start in life, and this is just the beginning of the things we sacrifice for our kids.
Everyone hears about sacrificing for your child, and most people do it once they become mothers, but ideas are NOTHING compared to the truth. Giving up alcohol and junk food for veggies and vitamins is trivial compared to the things you give up after you leave the delivery room. It isn't just about the way your body changes and never goes back, the way that can make you feel, especially when your husband is no worse for wear and people like Heidi Klum strut their stuff on the Victoria's Secret cat walk 6 weeks postpartum. It isn't about the hormonal mood swings that come out of nowhere, cause while that diminishes slightly over time, it never goes away. It isn't about not having time for yourself anymore, when just as you get the baby to sleep and you try to lie down, the phone rings or dog barks and the baby is screaming again. It's everything. Literally, every THING in your life is now effected because you are a mother. And some things about motherhood are still only discussed in the doctor's office, which is good that the docs are talking about it, but you feel like a weirdo around your friends who have had kids and they never talk about them. Things like how much nursing hurts or about postpartum depression or about how your husband wants sex and you could care less. We don't hear about these things from our friends so when they happen to us, we are left feeling odd and alone. And beyond the infant stages we are constantly being challenged with lessons in patience, kindness, and self-control.
Kids are great, and the good things you hear about parenting are even better when you experience them, but I think sometimes we get so caught up in how great it is that we leave out the people who feel like some of it isn't so great, in fact, some of it stinks. And while we wouldn't trade our kids for what we have given up, we want to make sure that those thinking about becoming moms know the whole picture and aren't caught unawares when the perfect happy world they thought parenthood was becomes a nightmare. And for those women who think, "I'm going to be a great mom.", you'll have days where you aren't so sure. And those who think, "I will never let my children behave that way.", they will. And those who think, "I can't believe that mother is ignoring her crying child.", you'll learn to tune out the cries that don't matter.
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