Mommy Monologues

Getting to Know Me

2011-10-14T04:18:16Z

I was going to do a post identical to this one & tonight, I just happened to be reading Theta Mom & decided I liked her questions better than the ones I was going to use.

Getting to Know Me

1. Name someone with the same birthday as you. Jake Gyllenhaal

2. What has been your favorite age so far? I liked 20, 23 & I’m loving 27 right now!

3. Where did you meet your husband? On a study abroad trip to Mexico

4. How many children do you have? One & one on the way

5. Have you ever sung in front of a large number of people? 4th grade talent show

6. What’s the first thing you notice about your preferred sex? I just remember noticing all of Todd because I thought he was HOT!

7. What really turns you off? I can not stand it when people lie to me.

8. What do you order at Starbucks? White chocolate mocha frappuccino.

9. What is your biggest mistake? Opening my big mouth & repeating things when I shouldn’t have.

10. As a child, what did you want to grow up to be? I don’t know if I ever had something specific like that.

11. Say something totally random about yourself. Right now, I’m watching Friends, & regretting that I didn’t go to bed an hour ago.

12. Do you still watch kiddie movies or TV shows? Sometimes. I like to get a cartoon Disney movie every year for Christmas. It’s tradition! This year we’re doing Lion King for Lboy!

13. Did you have braces? No, thank the good Lord I got my dad’s teeth!

14. Favorite Social Network? I like Facebook & Twitter.

15. What is the most romantic thing someone of the preferred sex has done for you? The night Todd proposed & after the first time we heard Lboy’s heartbeat. It was 150 beats a minute. Todd had flowers delivered with a note that said, “You make my heart beat 150 beats a minute.” *Cue the awwwing*

16. When do you know when it’s love? You just know.

17. Do you speak any other languages? I have a bachelor’s in Spanish. And I haven’t had to use it since Lboy was born. Don’t tell my parents, they spent a fortune making sure I was fluent in Spanish.

18. Have you ever been to a tanning salon? Yes, a few times my freshman & sophomore year of college. Until I read in a health magazine that tanning will make your boobs sag prematurely. Was I worried about cancer? No. Boob saggage? Yes.

19. What magazines do you read? I love People magazine & Shape.

20. What is playing on your iPod right now? My iPod was stolen. Don’t remind me.

21. Have you ever ridden in a limo? Yes, in the 10th grade for something.

22. Has anyone you were really close to passed away? Yes, my mom’s dad.

23. Do you watch MTV? Not anymore. I used to watch Real World & all those competitions they did. But, I’ve kind of outgrown the station entirely.

24. What’s something that really annoys you? I’m pregnant. Lots of things really annoy me these days.

25. Which television show you were sad to say goodbye to? Friends!

26. Can you dance? Hahaha…that would be a no.

27. What’s your favorite place in the world? Sitting on the couch at my grandparents’ house. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve spent at their house, sitting on that couch. It was the place that I went when I needed to find peace in a chaotic world, when I needed to know I was loved for who I was & not because of who I was expected to be, or just simply the place where I went to hear a good story or two from 2 of my most favorite people in the world.

28. Have you ever been rushed by an ambulance into the emergency room? Nope.

29. If you could meet anyone (dead or alive) who would it be? Hmmm…my list is really long. I’ll think about it & narrow it down.

30. If you could change one thing in the world for your child, what would it be? When he’s school age, I wish I could remove the fact that there will be mean kids & he will be picked on (aren’t we all at that age?)

Your turn: If you’re up for the challenge, ask a question in the comments that you would like to know more about and I’ll do my best to answer it. Or answer these questions on your blog & let me know you did! I’d love to read your answers.

Finding a Healthy Technology Balance for Our Kids

2011-10-12T13:17:43Z

Click Photo for Photo Credits

We live in a technological age where we have smartphones where we can’t go five minutes without checking Twitter, Facebook, email, or Words with Friends, and the list goes on. I know I only have a 2 year old & one on the way, but Lboy is getting to the stage where he wants to use my Iphone to watch Netflix all.the.time. He can be distracted by the TV if it’s on, even if it’s not a kids’ show. Combine that with the fact that Todd & I spend a lot of time online (obviously.) Todd plays video games, he’s on Twitter, Facebook, & has a blog. I blog on 2 different sites, have a personal & 2 blog Facebook pages, 2 Twitter accounts, a Blog Frog Community, & numerous other accounts online.

Growing up, I was allowed an hour of TV during the weekday, my parents didn’t buy video game systems, we were required to spend all our free time outside before starting our homework, & in the summers it was go outside & play or come inside & do chores. Technology was no where near as advanced or accessible (& inexpensive) as it is now. We were one of the first families to have a computer & even then internet use was nothing like it is now.

I really believe that it’s important for my kids to be active like I was when I was little. But, at the same time, they are going to have to use the internet for homework & I’m not going to keep them from doing what other kids their age are doing by not allowing them to have Facebook pages or a cell phone. Besides how can I keep my kids off the internet when I spend so much time on it?

So what’s the healthy balance, is there a healthy balance, or does it even need to be balanced?

According to poll cited Parade Magazine’s article, Generation Wired, “51% of American teens log on to a social media site more than once a day & 22% log on more than 10 times a day [...] and kids ages 11 to 14 spend, on average, 73 minutes a day texting; for older teens, it’s closer to two hours.” (Hello, I send up to 2700 texts a month. How do I tell my kids they can’t text all the time?!)

One of the biggest concerns that parents have is that their kids are “texting, checking Facebook, & chat” while they are doing their homework (also from Parade Magazine.)

Some things that we already implement in our daily lives, is Todd & I do not bring our computers or our phones to the dinner table (or any meal for that matter.) Todd doesn’t play video games when Lboy is awake & now that I’m not designing, my computer isn’t on if Lboy is awake.

As he gets older, our “rules” or guidelines will ebb & flow with Lboy’s (and other kids’) age & needs. For the time being, I will be happy with where we are at, pay attention to what we might need to change, & we’ll keep assessing what needs to be done.

What kind of balance do you think, if anything, your family has or needs?

To find out what kind of internet parent you are, go to: Parade.com/wired

You Know You’re Pregnant When…

2011-10-10T16:22:56Z

You know you’re pregnant when…

Your favorite meal(s) of all time make you sick as a dog just when someone mentions it.

You can tell anyone where the public restroom is in just about any location, because that is where you spend the most time.

You actually don’t mind having a big stomach.

A craving for something leaves as fast as it came & something you liked 10 seconds ago can make you sick.as.a.dog.

Your husband lets you sleep in on Sunday morning & you sleep in until 11:30. Then the kiddo goes down for a nap at 1 & you go to bed too & sleep for 3 hours. And then you go to bed at 8:30 that night. Tired much?

You know everything is going to change for the better, but a part of you is sad that all that one-on-one time you get to spend with your oldest is going to be very different. And you hope & pray they won’t notice & if they do notice, that they won’t remember it for long.

Leggings are your best friend & that’s all you live in all.day.long.

How did you know when you were pregnant?

Hi, are you a mother by any chance?

2011-10-05T03:24:13Z

Last week, Todd, Lboy & I loaded up in the car to go get a few things from WalMart.

Todd & Lboy went to the electronic section while I went to grab some pull-ups & other kid stuff.

I’m standing in the diaper aisle & there’s this very put together woman standing there with her shopping cart. She’s in work clothes & I knew immediately she wasn’t a mom. She had this glazed over look in her eyes from all the different selections of diapers, that look of “Oh my gosh, this aisle is so overwhelming! Why are there so many options?!!”

She looks at me, gives me the one over & says, “You aren’t a mother by any chance are you?”

I wanted to laugh out loud & reply, “Seriously, what gave it away?!”

Was it the hair that hasn’t been brushed since my kid’s naptime because I accidentally fell asleep with him while ~~begging~~ trying to get him to sleep? Was it the big, chocolate pudding stain that was smeared across my shoulder because Lboy bit his tongue while eating a snack after his nap & I completely forgot to change while rushing out of the house to get my grocery trip over? Was it the holes in the knees of my jeans because I’ve not bought myself a new pair of pants in almost 2 years & I’ve completely worn them out? The bags under the eyes? The mom shoes?

No, no, it must be the 2 boxes of pull-ups, the stack of wet wipes & the baby shampoo that I am trying to balance in my arms while trying to get something else that shouts “I have a kid!” off the shelf.

Please, do tell! What told you I was a mom?!

I promise I didn’t go into all of that with her, because I knew that she wouldn’t get why it was so funny. But, I was cracking myself up for sure!

She had a baby shower to go to, but had no idea what kind of diaper to buy. I showed her my favorite new born diapers, gave her my advice about how many to buy & what size, then we went our separate ways, her with a huge look of relief at being able to leave that scary, scary aisle & me laughing at just how hysterical I looked.

One thing is for sure, I definitely looked like your stereotypical mom!

What I’ve Been Up To

2011-10-04T03:08:03Z

Todd & I had a lot of changes this summer.

He started a new job. It was a HUGE life changing job for our family. It was/is Todd’s dream job & has the potential to build his career so that he always is able to work in his dream field. He loves it, he’s so much happier now, I love it that he loves it, oh & it doesn’t hurt that I’ve gotten a few date nights out of it right?

With the new job change, came a new commute as well. He drives 45 minutes each way, every.single.day. That turned our world upside down. It got us talking about should we move, we love our neighborhood, we’ve only lived in our house 2 1/2 years, we love this house, but the commute is a killer, etc etc etc.

THEN…right after the new job, came another HUGE & HAPPY blessing…

Baby #2 due March 22! 16 weeks along

We couldn’t be more thrilled!

But, I won’t lie… I’ve been a hot, neurotic, vomiting, sick, emotional mess with this kiddo.

Poor Todd. He politely & as sweetly as could be done, told me he hates pregnancy. And I absolutely, 100% agreed. Me & pregnancy? We do NOT get along. I’d rather pull all nighters, be vomited on, change diapers, deal with diaper rash, & any other hard part of parenting than do pregnancy. But, the reward at the end is oh so sweet. So, I’ll keep on keeping on.

I’ve also been cleaning like crazy, like seriously, I’m a crazy person. Todd came home to me on my hands & knees scrubbing the kitchen floor with a brush because I wanted the grout lines cleaned. Then one weekend it was the laundry room. The other day, I called Todd in a panic because my closet was a wreck. He came home from work & cleaned the entire closet, then we did the bedroom, I’ve cleaned out from underneath all the beds. Trust me, it’s bad. Next weekend…we’re hitting the garage. Hopefully, getting the carpets professionally cleaned will happen in the next couple of weeks. This baby is not coming home to messy house!

Taking the pregnancy test also jolted me into some major prioritizing. I felt that it was time for me to wrap up the design business, take a break from blogging, & spend time with Lboy & Todd while we have 40 weeks together before everything changes (and try to suffer through the first trimester with some dignity until I felt better. )

I’m glad that I have finally been able to share it with you all. I can’t wait to keep you updated on all the crazy fun!

Season Premiere of Mommy Monologues

2011-10-03T17:41:45Z

Click Photo for Photo Credits

I’ve been blogging for over a year now. And I’m not going to even lie to you, I get worn out & I just need a break. Let’s face it, to operate a successful blog you have to work really hard. The last few months have required that I take a break. BUT…

I just have too many opinions & stories to tell to stay out of blogging for too long. I have things to talk about people, whether it’s serious or funny or somewhere in the middle! What can I say, I’m a talker & my need for me ego to be fed (hello comments!) has finally got me typing again (sort of joking.)

Okay, okay, I’ll tell the truth. I’m ready to be able to tell Todd, “Sorry, I didn’t get to the dishes today because I absolutely HAD to write a blog post today. And then I absolutely HAD to write back to comments. And then all my favorite bloggers had a great post today, so I absolutely HAD to leave them a comment.” I haven’t had any “real” excuse for the house to be messy in a long time, so I need something new to blame it on. Whatever gets me back, right?

I have a post all lined up for tomorrow to tell you about what I’ve been doing since I went away in July. It’s not boring, I promise.

So consider this kind of very small, uneventful, yet glad to be back season premiere of me getting back into blogging.

Where’s my red carpet y’all?!

I’ve missed you gals!

Taking a Break

2011-09-09T03:18:11Z

Hello Friends!

I’m going to be taking a break from designing for a short while. I am going to finish up the current projects that I have going on right now & then I will be taking an extended vacation & then will re-evaluate where I’m at around November 1st. I have removed my design order form & will not be taking orders during that time.

If you have contacted me in the last week, I have been taking care of some stuff at home & have not been able to get to your emails as of yet. Should you read this post before I can email you, then I hope that you will be able to get in touch with the designers that I’ve listed below.

If you are looking for design work, then I HIGHLY recommend that you check out these two amazing designers:

Angie at Strosgirl’s Designs.

Services offered: Pre-mades for Blogger & Self-Hosted WP, Blogger to WP migrations, Custom WP & Blogger Designs

Most of you know her work at Carri’s blog at Mommy’s Little Monster Blake. She really is super talented & really knows what she’s doing–she’s a Genesis designing extraordinaire! You will love her prices too!

Lynne at Visual Serendipity:

Services offered: Custom WP.org & WP.com Designs, Custom Child Themes, Blogger to WP Migrations, WP.com to WP.org migrations & WP.com designs (No Blogger Designs)

Lynne has done some fabulous work & has been in the business for 15 years! You have seen her advertised on SITS offering giveaways. Lynne actually was the one who taught me how to design for Thesis, so why not hire the teacher?! You won’t be disappointed!

For Past Clients:

For those of you who have had designs done by me, I wanted to tell you that all accounts that were opened to help me design (meaning hosting accounts) will remain open. My account on Photobucket that was used to host images will remain open & none of your images (aka your design) will be affected. Obviously, I am not responsible for any network problems that Photobucket may have (like they did in the Spring if you remember–that was a very RARE occurrence & only affected 2% of their clients) but as far as my end of the deal goes, your images will remain on that account & your design will remain in tact (this mostly has to do with those of you on Blogger. For those of you on WP, this means your buttons & social networking icons.)

Another free hosting service I use is Webs.com for installing the custom fonts (this for Blogger only) & your fonts will also remain intact on this account. Again, I am not responsible for any changes they may make in the future or if they have network problems, but as far as my account goes, it will not be closed by me.

I really, really, really appreciate all of you who have worked with me. It is beyond flattering & I consider it a great honor that you would entrust me with beautifying your blog & websites! Being a part of your blog has been amazing!

I won’t be checking out of blogging, in fact, with the spare time I will soon have I am hoping that I will be able to start writing again. But, as far as designing goes, I have a lot going on in my real life that needs my focus more than anything else.

Again, THANK YOU very much!

I’m MIA, but I’m Alive

2011-08-18T02:18:45Z

I’m still here & still alive.

Life. It gets in the way sometimes.

And it has definitely gotten in the way of my blogging schedule.

Right now, I’ve been too busy to even miss it. But, I’m hoping that’s going to change & that the world will slow down a little bit & let me get back into my routine.

And I’m still taking all blogging orders, just in case you were wondering. So keep those coming in! Blog Design has never been busier, I’m taking orders right now for a start date of September 19th! I can’t believe it, seeing as how I started doing this a year ago & I thought I’d be lucky to get one blog design a month, let alone 10-15 a month & 5-6 inquiries a day!

For those of you that I have heard from asking me how I’m doing & what’s going on, I really appreciate it. Let’s me know that I’ve made some real friendships in this blogging gig.

I’ll be back soon!

My Favorite Sibling

2011-07-20T16:05:14Z

I am the oldest of 5 kids.

But I have a favorite sibling. Now don’t tell them, I don’t want to hurt their feelings.

Maryann is my favorite, by far.

Maryann & I are 23 months apart. I used to feed her ice cream even though I knew she was allergic to dairy. What are sisters for right? I can still remember the first day she told me no. She was 4 & I was 6. It was shocker to my system, let me tell you. I also remember the first time she one upped me in an argument, that was also a shocker. In fact, it still hurts a bit.

She’s always good for a good phone call, especially a major B fest when I’m super ticked or super upset or just freaking mad because the sky is blue. Yup, she’s always good for one of those phone calls.

She’s also going to be starting law school in August, so I’m really glad she’s my favorite so I can hit her up for free legal advice or say things like, “Listen lady, you mess with me one more time & I’m going to call my lawyer. Yeah, that’s right, I have her on speed dial.” Boom.

Whitley is my favorite, by far.

Whitley & I definitely talk just about every day. She’s pretty good for a phone call too. Only I usually call her just because I’m driving & I have nothing important to say. Except for when she’s at work. Which I honestly hold it against her that she doesn’t answer my phone calls when she’s working or watching movies with her husband. Doesn’t she know that I AM the most important person in her life?!!! Geez!

I tend to really “big sister” Whitley. I hope it doesn’t drive her nuts, I just can’t help myself! She’s got some killer hiking skills, she’s great with my kid (all kids really) & you’ve never met someone who cares more about people & who is willing to go the extra mile for a person.

Thomas is my favorite, by far.

Okay, so Thomas is pretty good about the phone calls too.

He lives in the same college town as me, but when he was a senior in high school I told him that as soon as he moved to my town I was going to make him my slave. At which point he promised me that he would enslave Lboy & all future children that I have should I ever make him do anything for me. Yeah, he totally trumped me on that one.

When Thomas was in kindergarten it was my job to walk him to class before heading to my own class room. It was one of my favorite parts of the day. And it wasn’t anything I ever resented! It’s cool that we shared that!

We live about a mile apart & I only see him at Thanksgiving, Christmas, & Easter…at my parents’ house…3 hours away.

John Michael is my favorite, by far.

The baby. I was 8 years old & my mom asked me if I wanted my own bedroom or a new brother or sister. I said I wanted a new brother or sister (good thing huh? She was already pregnant, what if I had said my own bedroom?!! That was a risk!)

This kid can crack you up like no one else & he’s also the smartest person you’ll ever meet. When he was in kindergarten he had a bigger vocabulary than I did in the 8th grade! He’s always blown me away with how intelligent he is, he seriously knows the most random stuff about everything.

He’s good about talking to me on the phone too (like he did this morning & yesterday morning.) We give each other a pretty hard time joking wise. And people always tell us that we are bookends!

He will also be at the same University as Thomas next month. And I will also only see him at Thanksgiving, Christmas & Easter…at my parents’ house…3 hours away.

Okay, okay, so you caught me. They’re all my favorites.

As a whole, we 5 stick together. We’re always texting each other an inside joke or something completely crazy that we’ve heard. We get a big kick out of each other that’s for dang sure. I wouldn’t have traded a single one of them for my own bedroom ever!

Thank you Kludgy Mom for your Idea Bank for this post!

Where I spend most of my time

2011-07-19T00:57:02Z

A prompt from the past!

2.) Where do you spend most of your time and why?

For more information on VlogTalk or to have the prompts directly emailed to you go here.

The weekly #VlogTalk Twitter chat will be Tuesday July 19 from 8pm to 9pm CST. See you then!

Happy Vlogging!