Wordless Wednesday

Smiling Faces, part 3

I didn't post a photo Friday so I'm posting a smiling faces Saturday.

Wordless Wednesday ~~ My other kids...

Exhausted

This is how I feel today.....

Not Me! Monday

I haven't done a Not Me Monday in a long time and Lacy thought I should do one since I NEVER do anything dumb or that I would be embarrassed about......no, not me!! The Not Me! Monday was started over at Mckmama's blog.

I did not give in to Erynn after two days of her not begging me for a snow cone maker from Walmart. I did not tell her over and over that No, I was NOT going to buy that dumb snow cone maker. And after I purchased it, I did not offer to buy the cute little snow cone cups and several flavors of the syrup. And after I didn't buy her the snow cone maker, I did not tell her to not ask for anything else until her birthday!

One day while walking outside to give Tony the hamburgers to put on the grill, I did not fall flat on my face because of the freakin' gate that was broken and all of the tin on the ground from my roof that STILL has not gotten done. I did not keep all of the burgers on the plate when they fell.....and Tony most certainly did not laugh from the other side of the fence and tell me to go around the other way. He would never do that...he would come running to help me up!! He is such a loser good husband!!

I also did not tell Ethan that until he stays out of trouble at school for not doing his homework that he could absolutely not spend the night with me.....and he most certainly did not spend the night with me that same night that I told him he couldn't. And Erick didn't stay, too, because I've told them only one kid at a time on a school night. Like I said before....I am not a pushover Nana who gives in to her grandkids every wish!! No, not me!!

I did not have a good Mother's Day because I did not get to see all of my kids and grandkids. I'm never happy to see them and while Jacob was not here, I didn't rock him until 1:30 in the morning because he sleeps so well at night!!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!!

Little League Baseball has officially started.

Erynn is on the Divas and they are just that!! They may not win, but they are the prettiest and best dressed team out there!!


Erick is on the Braves. This is his first year for kid pitch.



Ethan and Calor are on the same team....the Rangers! Calor is one of the oldest ones on that team and Ethan is the youngest one.


Bailey is not playing this year. She would have to be with girls that are in JH and Bailey is not very big, so it would be pretty scary for her to play with those big girls....scary for me, that is!! She is sticking with golf this year and she is pretty good.

Last night there were 2 games that we went to. Erynn played first on the softball field and then Ethan and Calor played at the Rock Stadium. Erick has his first game tonight, then more games tomorrow. It looks like I'll be living at the baseball and softball fields this summer and I hope to go and watch Bailey play golf, too.

(Side note----our Rock Stadium is in the running to get re-built by Kelloggs. The last time I looked, we were in first place. We have until the 31st to vote and you can vote using each of your email addresses every day....so go here to vote.)

Wordless Wednesday

I'm a Guest Blogger!!

Last week, I had my friend, Lana, to guest post on my blog. Today it is my turn to do a post on her blog. Since there has been so much talk about marriage lately, I thought I would give my thoughts on that subject. Go here to read it and leave a comment! Thanks Lana for letting me be a guest blogger!!

My First Guest Post

As I've mentioned before, I've found 2 other Lana bloggers. We all three have to decided to guest post on each other's blog. Here is the first Lana's guest post. Check out her blog, Livin' it, Lovin' it. I'm still trying to find something to blog about on her blog. If you have any suggestions, I'll gladly consider them!! Here it goes:

Working Mom Guilt

I read this quote a while back and I don’t even remember the author “No educated modern woman can have a baby without suffering agonies of self-doubt about the meaning of motherhood.” Who does not agree with this statement? Every working mother can agree that working mom guilt is a dilemma that many of us face, and just because we know that we are not alone, it doesn’t mean that one of us or all of us should just simply get over it. We are all affected by it differently.

Dropping off your child at daycare for eight plus hours a day can take a toll on any parent, but for working mothers, it takes on a whole new dimension especially when you attach that the stigma that comes with the expectations of society or the portrayal of working mothers in the media. Moreover, these stereotypes do not come from stay-at-home moms and that is where a big misconception lies. These stereotypes come directly from the media and the corporate world. Think about it. Dads don’t feel guilty that they leave their children and go to work everyday because no one expects them to. Yet another example - how many working mothers have made a decision not to breastfeed because they were concerned it would interfere with their careers?

There isn’t one mother out there who doesn’t dream of an at-home situation (whether it be working from home or being able to stay home with her children) or even being able to take her children to work with her. Unfortunately, these situations only work for a lucky few and with all the negativity out there, it is no wonder so many of us feel like bad mothers.

Working moms, let me share one great piece of information with you and maybe you can relieve yourself of some of that guilt, even if it is just for a few minutes! There is no solid evidence out there to show that children of working mothers experience any emotional harm from being away from their mothers. With that said – do you feel any less guilty? Of course not! You still feel guilty because that one sentence, as true as it may be, is just not enough. Look around you! For years, the media blamed working mothers for the neglect of their children, the breakdown of the traditional family and the decline of society. In addition, now the hype is all about the mothers who leave their corporate jobs to stay home with their children. For those of us who cannot afford to stay home and/or who actually want to stay in their professions and enjoy the extra income, we should not be made into bad mothers. It is no wonder we feel guilty!

Fortunately, we can thank authors like Betty Holcomb, author of “Not Guilty! The Good News About Working Mothers” for helping to put an end to the working mom stereotype. (Yes, Betty, this is a shout out!) She tells us that the media is incorrect in their assumptions. She assures us that we (and our children) are doing just fine and she backs it up with solid evidence – evidence that shows that our children are not harmed by us working outside of the home and that are children are not any less intelligent or misbehave more just because they spend time in daycare.

Now that I have broken the pedestal from jumping with excitement and screaming “Hallelujah!,” I can get serious and tell you that I live with the same guilt despite working for eight plus years and having children in daycare for all of that time. It never gets easier and I still get teary-eyed when I leave a grouchy nine year old or a crying infant for complete strangers to comfort. What I do have comfort in is knowing that I am not alone in how I feel and one day, if I pray just hard enough, I might just win the lottery and have more time than I can dream up to spend my children, but in the meantime, I will just have to deal with the guilt and cut myself some slack because I know I am doing the right thing and yes, I am not alone.

Thank you for allowing me to express my views on a topic that is close to my heart and thank you, my friend, Lana, for allowing me this opportunity. Please come by and visit my blog Living It, Loving It.

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Lana

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