Did You Know?

If you are a parent, then I am going to guess you have heard this phrase, “Did you know?” at least once or twice.  For me, I hear it at least 1,000 times a day.  I swear.  I am not exaggerating.  No lie.  1,000 times a day.  And that is just from my son.  If I count in all the times I hear it from my daughter too, then I am going to have to say I hear it at least 1,500 times a day.  She only says it half as much as he does because she is only half his age.

I am really enjoying spending time with my kids since this summer.  Since I have always put them in daycare for the summer, I am not used to having them home.  We are doing a lot of playing together whether it is going to the beach, going to the library, or just playing together at home. We are spending a lot of good quality time together.  I feel very fortunate to have this time with my children since the older I am getting, the faster time is flying.  I know in a few more summers my son will want nothing to do with me. He will be too cool to hang out with mom.  It will be all about his friends and I will be kicked to the curb (okay, maybe a little over dramatic with the saying, but you get the point).

As I am spending more time with my kids, we are having a lot more conversations.  Silence is not golden in my house nor in my car. Because of this, I have learned more than I ever thought I could from my children saying, “Did you know?” 1,500 times a day.   Did you know that there are a lot of black cars on the road?  Did you know baseball is nine innings?  Did you know you move fast on water slides?  Did you know ants can bite you?  Did you know 200 + 200 is 400?  Did you know all you have to do is add the zero on the end to figure that out?  Did you know if you stand still a wasp will leave you alone?  Did you know New York has a lot of trains?  Did you know it is really dark at the bottom of the ocean?  Did you know there is hot lava in the earth? Well, if you didn’t know all of this before, you do now, just like me.

Believe me.  There are a lot more little facts that I know.  I just don’t have the room to list them all.  I feel like I am living with a human almanac or even better, my own little Cliff Claven from “Cheers”.  Remember him?  He used to walk around saying, “It’s a little known fact…”.  Maybe my children are Cliff Claven reincarnated?  Every time one of my kids tells me a “Did you know” fact, I want to say, “Thank you Cliff Claven”, but obviously they would have no idea to what I am referring.

I do find it very amusing when they keep saying their little facts.  It is very entertaining.  But really?  Do I need to know 1,500 facts a day?  Probably not.  But, it does show me how observant they are and just how much their little brains work.  It is truly amazing.  So, in all, I don’t mind listening to, “Did you know” as much as I do in one day.  Besides, when I am not hearing, “Did you know”, I am hearing, “If you imagine”. That is said about 500 times a day.  Per child.   But those stories will have to wait for another day.

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Monopoly? Not So Much Anymore…

It was a while back that I blogged about how life is like a game of Monopoly.  At that time of my life, I would have to say that was a great way to describe it, but not so much anymore.  After playing a game of Chutes and Ladders with my kids the other day, I feel like life is more like that game rather than Monopoly.

If you never played Chutes and Ladders, then shame on you because it a staple game of childhood.  It is THE game of ups and downs and really, that’s what life really is:  A lot of ups and downs.  On the board you get to move up for doing the right thing.  You do chores, you move up. You help others, you move up.  You do your work, you move up.  The ladders move you up closer to winning.  Now that I think about that, isn’t that taking the short cut?  Aren’t we told to work hard and follow the correct paths to our goals?  Isn’t it ingrained in our brains to play by the rules and never take the short cut?  Hmmm…

Alas, if you break the rules you slide back down and have to start moving up again.  You don’t do your chores, you slide down.  You don’t help others, you slide down.  You don’t do your work, you slide down.  There is a consequence for not doing the right thing. Isn’t that what’s supposed to happen in real life?  Aren’t we always told cheaters never prosper?  Aren’t we been told good things happen to good people?  Aren’t we told hard workers will reap the rewards?  So why is it then that life doesn’t always follow the rules of Chutes and Ladders?

We have all seen it when a person who is so undeserving of a promotion moves up.  We have seen people who take the short cut or laze off and succeed despite themselves.  We have watched the cheaters win.  But, that is all part of life.  It is these lessons that I feel make people stronger in the end.  I feel it is these “unfair” situations that give people character and integrity.  It is these “unfair” situations that make people strive to be better, stronger and hold steadfast.

As hard as one may work, as much as one may follow the rules, and as much as one plays the right way, no one is guaranteed to move up.  You may find yourself moving back down and having to start all over.  But it is the journey that matters.  It is how you handle the journey that is important.  It is the experience of moving up and falling down, picking yourself up, and dusting yourself off and doing it all over again that is crucial.  Life is a game of ups and downs.  You spin the spinner, you roll the dice, you take your chances and if you climb up to find yourself only moving back down, at least you moved.

Maybe Chutes and Ladders doesn’t really teach the right lessons in the sense that if you do good you get to move ahead by taking the shortcut.  There are no shortcuts in life.  Also, it teaches that when you do good you move up and when you do bad you move back down.  That is not always the case either.  Yes, life is a whole bunch of ups and downs, but the ups and downs aren’t always fairly justified.  We have to roll with the punches and hopefully, if we do this with character and integrity, we will get the blue ribbon in the end and who doesn’t want that big, pretty blue ribbon at the top?

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The Follow Through

Before I became a parent, I thought I knew everything about parenting.  I was an expert.  I could sit in a restaurant and critique the parents at the table across the room whose child was having a meltdown.  I could see what they were doing was totally incorrect.  I mean it had to be wrong.  Why else would their child still be having the meltdown five minutes later if they were parenting correctly? Right?  I could sit there and say to myself what they SHOULD be doing. I could say to myself how differently I would handle it because I was an expert after all.  You see, in order to become a teacher like I used to be, I had to study child development.  So who better to know how to handle a child, right?  Someone who studied early childhood development, right?  That was my theory until I had kids of my own.

I thought I was an expert at parenting until I had my own kids.  Holy crap.  Not even close to being an expert.  As a matter of fact, I would have to say that no matter how many days I parent, I never have been nor ever will be an expert.  Like everything else in life, it is an ongoing learning process.  And, with each day I certainly learn what works and what doesn’t work with my children.  It is a learning curve figuring it all out and what works for one of my kids does not necessarily work for the other.  No matter what method or idea I try, I have learned a critical element:  The follow through is the most crucial part when it comes to disciplining a child.

Not only is the follow through the most crucial part of disciplining a child, it is the most difficult part as well.  As a matter of fact, I hate the follow through.  Why?  Usually it’s because in the heat of the moment, I may say a threat that I don’t really want to follow through with, but then, lo and behold, I have to.  Why as parents do we do this?  Sometimes I want to kick myself after the threat comes flying out of my mouth.  It’s like a cartoon balloon.  The words just hang there and I wish I could erase them or pop the balloon to negate the forthcoming action.    And, if you don’t follow through, then the consequence for you as the parent is worse.  You’ve just lost all credibility with your child and there ain’t no coming back from that.

That is why I love time out so much.  I use time out more often times to prevent me from saying a threat I may regret two seconds later.  Using my childhood development background I try to give my children choices before going to the threats, but that doesn’t always work.  So, if I have to threaten with taking a privilege away, then I like to send them to time out first so I can think through what I really want to say.  I want to be sure it is something I can and will follow through with.  For me, time out is a break for me more so than a punishment for my child.  And, nine times out of ten when I follow this process, I don’t regret what I’ve said and I am able to really follow through with it.

I look back at how naive I was.  When I was a teacher, unmarried with no children, I thought I knew it all.  I think when we don’t have children of our own, we really do believe we are experts.  We really think we will be better parents than those around us.  But then, when you are a parent, you realize you don’t know half of what you thought you did.  Being a parent humbles you tremendously.  It makes you realize how far from being an expert you truly are.  And, although no one will ever be a perfect parent, each day gives us another chance to practice to  become a better parent than we were the day before.

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Are You a “Helicopter Mom”?

Have you ever heard the term “helicopter mom”?  I had not until recently and then all of the sudden, I am seeing and hearing about it all over the place.  A “helicopter mom” is a mom who “hovers” over her children.  It references an overprotective mom who is so involved in their child’s life, she basically does everything for them.  The term came about in the 1990′s.   It usually refers to moms of college aged students, but after reading about “helicopter moms”, I think it occurs at any age.  I also like to think one can have varying degrees of  hovering.

I would like to say I am not a “helicopter mom”, but I’m not so sure I can.  I am not so controlling over my children’s lives that I do everything for them.  I try to teach them independence with school work, getting dressed, grooming themselves, fighting their own fights, etc.  I try to allow them independence for age appropriate actions.  However, in this day and age of the internet, social media, and predators, how can we not afford to be too controlling?  That is why I think there is a respectable level of hovering as well as different categories for hovering before you may be considered a “helicopter mom”.

I have read articles where moms do kids’ homework for them, she registers them for their classes, she calls them once a day or more (sorry, Mom.  You do fall into this category!), she sneaks into their dorms, does their laundry and sneaks back out, and/or she cleans their rooms for them.  Basically, she does so much her child does not know how to do these tasks on their own.  Okay, to me, that is an absurd amount of interfering.  Children certainly need to know how to function without mommy being around.  How else will they grow up and be responsible on their own? They won’t with that amount of “hovering”.

But, back to the safety issue.  How much is too much hovering when it comes to your child’s safety?  Growing up, I was able to play in the neighborhood streets. I was allowed to leave our property for hours on end.  I was able to play kickball down the street until dark.  I was allowed to go for bike rides without reporting back every five minutes where I was.  I was able to play hide and seek down the entire street and nobody panicked.  Sadly, this is not the case today.  We live an entirely different society.

How much freedom is too much with the scary people who are out there?  How much is too much hovering to where our children feel they have little or no opportunity to play freely?  Maybe the sickos were out there when I was growing up, but maybe the media did not expose them so we were unaware of all the dangers out there.  Maybe as the age of technology progresses, people have become sicker with all they have access to.  So yes, we have to be “helicopter moms” when it comes to our children’s safety, although there is a fine line.  We do not want our children to become so neurotic they are afraid of everyone and everything.  There has to be a balance, but to me, it is a hard balance to find.  I can only hope my children will not consider me a “helicopter mom”.  Do yours?

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That Age

What is “that age”?  When are you at “that age”? You know the one I’m talking about.  The one when you’re having a conversation about someone, something, or anything and somebody says, “Well, you know, you are getting to ‘that age’”. And, no matter how old you are, “that age” always seems to apply to you.  There is no actual numerical value or true age attached with “that age”.

Let me explain about “that age”.  The teen years.  Acne begins.  Hormones rage.  Awkwardness sets in.  It is all due to being, “that age”.  I can’t even remember how many times my parents or my parents’ friends would say, “Well, you know.  She is getting to be that age”.  Then you begin to approach adulthood.  You exert more independence as curfews are lifted and you get closer to going off to college.  Again, you heard from parents and their friends, “Well, you know, she is getting to that age”.

Enter adulthood.  Meet full and total independence.  Graduate from college.  Dating relationships became more serious. Out looking for “the one”.  Time passes a bit more as you date and figure out who and what you want in a mate.  Now, for me, I was passing by the average age of marriage.  According to the older generation I was damn near an old maid. How many times did my parents hear, “When will she meet someone to settle down with? When will she get married? You know, she is getting to that age?”.  Really? What age is that? Was I about to rot like a ripe old melon?

Whew..finally marriage occurred.  Thank God before I shriveled up from being “that age”.  Then, after you’re married for more than five minutes,  the questions came about having babies.  ”When will you have kids? When will you get pregnant?  You know, you are getting to be that age.” Again? I’m at that age again? How many times in one’s life can one be at “that age?”.  I mean really?!

Two rites of passage down and I am still hearing how I’m getting to or I am at “that age”.  Friends are getting divorced. “Well you know, you are getting to that age”.  It’s harder to lose weight or keep in shape.  ”Well, you know, you are at that age”.  Routine blood tests result in higher cholesterol and unhealthy numbers.  ”Well, you know, you are at that age now.”  Still?  I’m still at “that age”?  Good golly!  Will it ever end?

The most ironic thing about being at “that age” is as old as I am, guess what?  My young children are at “that age” too.  It is timeless.  As both my children grow and behaviors change guess what we all attribute it to? You guessed it: That age.  My daughter has meltdowns, “she’s at that age”.  My son doesn’t like loud noises, “he’s at that age”.  My daughter asserts independence by wanting to get dressed herself, “she’s at that age”.  My son asks lots of questions about the world around him, “he’s at that age”.

You can never escape being “that age”.  We will always be at “that age”.  As we enter senility and have our licenses taken away, our independence taken away, even some of our friends taken away, instead of hearing, “Well, you know, you are at that age”, WE will be saying, “Well, you know, we are at that age”.  ”That age” is boundless, endless, and perpetual. No matter how old we are, we are at that age.  But, on the bright side, always being at “that age”  makes us ageless and that ain’t such a bad thing, don’t you think?

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Evolution of the Seat Belt

The other night I was having a conversation with my family about our first cars and how we hated how our parents made us drive really safe, very uncool, cars as our first cars.  We were comparing whose first car was the worst.  I’m going to have to say I won hands down because my first car was so old there were no across the shoulder seat belts in it.  That’s right. I said NO across the shoulder belt.  Most of you who will be reading this today have probably NEVER even seen a car without a shoulder harness.

My first car was a 1971 LTD.  Enormous.  Gigantic.  Colossal.  The front of the car was in a different time zone than the back.  I have seen yachts smaller than my car.  So not hip or chic.  I went to the snobby high school of the area so I would basically have to duck down while driving it into the school parking lot.  Safe?  Without a doubt.  I think the car was modeled after an army tank.  Nothing was hurting this car and I guarantee had I ever been in an accident, I would have walked away in mint condition.  Now that I think about it, my car would’ve still been in mint condition as well.   It was an indestructible tank.  But, that is neither here nor there.  You must read more about the seat belts.

The seat belt went across the lap.  And it didn’t retract by itself.  You had to adjust the strap just like you do on your belt you wear on your pants.  Then, it had a second belt that hung from the ceiling that attached to the lap belt.  It clicked in the lap belt piece.  So really you had the option of whether or not to wear the should harness.  It was not mandatory.  And of course the seat belt light certainly did NOT light up if I chose not to wear it, which of course I never did.  I used to have to give a demonstration on how to work the belt upon entering the car, much like a flight attendant.

My next car was the most modern of its kind.  I got it in 1989 and it was 1990 Mitsubishi Eclipse.  Sporty.  Sleek.  Small.  Awesome!  And, it had the automatic shoulder harness.  Score!  You opened the door, the seat belt moved.  You closed the door, it automatically went over your shoulder.  How cool is that?  Although, I still had to clip the lap belt manually, but at least it was retractable.  No more having to self adjust the belt.  The only problem I ran into with this was when I had the ignition running and opened the door.  It basically became a noose.  It would wrap around your neck and damn near kill you.  But hey, at least it was modern!

Each car I’ve had after those had normal, modern, up-to-date, retractable, one pieced across the shoulder seat belts.  Even the back seats had them!  Wow! How I’ve advanced over the years.  But, through  all the different cars and seat belts, I’m going to have to say my most favorite kind, and probably the safest, and it is a timeless one, is the mom seat belt.  You know the one:  The arm that comes flying across your body the second the brakes begin to slam.

I have never understand what it is about this automatic reaction all moms have.  I have NEVER seen a dad do this. What is it that we moms have inside us that causes us to throw our arm across the body of the passenger sitting next to us?  I have even caught myself doing it when I have a bag sitting in the seat next to me.  I laugh at myself every time I do it because I remember how it drove me crazy when my mom would do it to me.  I remember the feeling of her long nails digging into my chest as she whipped her arm across my body.  Hell, she still does it today.

Because my children are still too little, they sit in the back seat so they have not had the pleasure of experiencing the mom seat belt.  But, the way I look at it, it is the best kind of seat belt out there.  It is automatic without choking your neck when the door opens.  It comes equipped in all cars driven my mom.  It is added protection to your already federally mandated, safety approved standard seat belt.  It is a classic.  It will never go out of style.  It may be uncomfortable and crush your chest, but it will always be there to protect you and who could ask for more than that?

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Like We Need Any More Back Seat Drivers?!

So the other day I was driving to a friend’s house and although I have been there before, I never really paid attention on how to get there because I always use my GPS and follow its directions.  When I got my first GPS system I wasn’t sure if I would get my money’s worth from it.  I can’t believe how often I use it and what I use it for.  I love having it.  My newest car has one in it too because now I feel like I can’t live without it.

But, I realized using my navigation system is like having another back seat driver and doesn’t the world already have enough of those? The only difference is the back seat driver is in the front of the car! If you have a GPS in your car then you know exactly what I’m talking about.  Yes, it is very nice of it to tell you how to get to your destination, but if you make one wrong move then forget about it!  It lectures and demeans you.

Think about it.  If you have GPS in your car and you set your route it tells you step by step what to do.  Great.  Gets you where you need to go.  But how many times can it tell you turn right.  It does it like six times before you need to turn, “In 1/4 mile turn right.  In 1/8 mile turn right.  In 300 feet turn right.  In 100 feet turn right.  Turn right here.”  I mean really?  If you miss your turn then you’ve got a serious problem.  And, if by some weird chance you have now missed your turn, it tells you, “Please make a legal u-turn.  At the next possible place, make a legal u-turn.  Make a legal u-turn.” Yeah, I got it, lady!  You want me to make a legal u-turn! I think it really wants to say is, “Damn it, make a legal u-turn moron!”.

It takes like 4 or 5 times of the u-turn lecture before it will recalculate your route.  And forget about stopping off for gas or food or a potty break.  It is like you have broken a cardinal rule or something.  The lecture you get from the GPS at that point.  Yikes!  You’d better not even think about deviating from the calculated route!  Hold your pee, pack a lunch and make sure you are all gassed up before you go.

And, why is it they use a woman’s voice? You know the old cliché about how men always say they have the nagging wife in the passenger seat?   Do you think it is a coincidence they use a woman’s voice?  Do you think they do that because it nags you or is it because women are smarter, ask for directions, and know where they are ultimately going where as men don’t?  I’m going with the latter.

I know having a GPS is great.  I opted for it in my car again.  But really, does it have to be so condescending at times? And, the great debate continues whether man or machine smarter?  If you ask the GPS it will tell you machine is smarter.  Just listen to it and its condescending tone.  It thinks it knows everything, which sometimes it does.  But, how many times has it sent me the wrong way?  Enough times to know not to always trust it!

Technology is great and I would not trade in my GPS.  I use it far too often and love its convenience.  I’m just saying sometimes I don’t need another back seat driver.  My two kids are already becoming human navigation systems and sometimes I think they are smarter than my GPS.  And hey, at least the kids let me stop en route (especially if it benefits them!) and I don’t get reprimanded for it!

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Once a Party Animal, Always a Party Animal

Okay.  So I really think that you are either born a party animal or not.  I am a firm believer in this theory.  Of course this is just a made up theory by me, but I really think it is true.  Why do I think it’s true?  Because I think the reputation begins from day one of life.

If my theory is correct, then my son will not be a party animal, but my daughter will be.  How do I know?  Well, my son is not a night person.  He is the kind of kid who as soon as he gets tired, asks if he can go to bed.  I know.  Crazy, right?  What kid in their right mind wants to go to bed?  My son.  That’s who.  It cracks me up.  Even as a toddler he was like that.  I would want to keep him late for whatever reason and he would look at me and beg me to go to bed.  Just the other night, he was at his cousin’s house and he was up until 10:00 and as soon as I walked in the door to pick him up he said, “Can we go home now.  I want to go to bed”.  My daughter on the other hand, not so much.

My daughter will party it up ’til the break of dawn.  I swear.  She is the younger one and loves to stay up as late as she can.  The problem with this is she is NOT a morning person.  We were at my niece’s graduation party recently and my daughter, who is 3, had to be dragged out of there.  She was dancing her butt off on the dance floor all night.  It was priceless watching her.  And, as I literally dragged her out of there, she wanted no part of leaving.  Mind you it was past 10:00 and she had been at preschool all day.  She was good to go.  No need to rush home and get to bed.  No sir.  Not her.

When I look at both my kids and see how their patterns are between the sleeper and the night owl, I am reminded of me and my brother.  My brother, who is older, is the night owl.  He can stay up with the best of them and be fine.  Lack of sleep is not so much an issue for him.  Me?  Definitely not so much.  I can’t stay up late.  I need my sleep.  I like to sleep.  I would even call it one of my most favorite hobbies (too bad I have such trouble doing it the older I’m getting!). And, it was like that for us as babies/toddlers.

I slept through the night by two weeks old.  I slept 14 hours a night by two months old.  My brother never slept through the night.  He was a night owl even then.  He wouldn’t fall asleep and when he did, he didn’t stay that way.  He had those sleeping habits through his toddler years.  So if this was the case for me and my brother as babies and then it is the same for us as adults, then I can safely say my daughter will be the party animal and my son will be the one home and in bed by a decent hour.

I am not, and never have been known as a party animal. Although, it would be nice to have that reputation once in a while.  But in order to gain that reputation, I guess that means I would have to actually go out and stay up past 10:00.  Not sure if I can handle that task.  I suppose it is pretty sad when your 3 year old wants to and can stay up later than you!  Oh well, once a party animal, always a party animal!

Where Is The Motivation?

Phhhhissshhhh.  That is the sound of me deflating like a balloon.  My get up and go has got up and went.  Not about life. About my business.  Now, before anyone reads any further, let me clarify that I am not down, depressed or upset.  It is a sense of frustration I am experiencing.  Frustrated with dealing with a business that lately seems to be going nowhere. Stagnate.  Still.  Nothing.

When my partner and I came up with the idea, we were so gung-ho.  Full of air! Excitement overflowed.  It was all I could think and talk about.  My mind raced with a million and one ideas.  I envisioned a huge empire that I would be beginning.  The next Nike, only for maternity.  I would conquer the clothing world, one shirt at a time.  The sky was the limit.  Sporty U. would be the next greatest idea.  Everyone who was expecting or who knew someone expecting would be rushing the racks to buy our shirts.  Yeah.  Not so much.  Not yet anyway.

This October will be three years since we formed our corporation.  It will be one year next month since we received our inventory.  So technically, we haven’t been at it for as long as it feels like.  The licensing process and finding a manufacturer was such a long process, it feels like we’ve been in business forever.  Every step of our business has been such a process, from the licensing process to making sales.  I am sure that is the case for any business: Everything is a process.

But, day after day of being turned down and dealing with people who never respond or call you back, you get burned out.  I am so tired of making phone calls and no one calling back.  I am tired of emailing and no one responds back.  I know deep down if someone was really interested in our product, they would call or contact us.  My brain is fried trying to reinvent ourselves.  Re-marketing ourselves.  Finding new ways to make sales.  Finding creative ways to get the word out about our product.

I am not saying I am ready to give up.  I am saying there are days, like today that I feel like giving up.  I feel like why keep trying when there are no benefits? No rewards. No reason to continue trying when nothing comes of it.  I know persistence is the key.  Never give up.  Stay steadfast.  Some days it is just easier said than done.  Today is one of those days.  Today I am a balloon and all the air is being pushed out.  I just need a little air pumped back in to bring some life to me and my sense of motivation.

Maybe you know someone who is expecting and a University of Florida Gator fan?  How about a Florida State University Seminole fan?  University of South Florida Bulls fan? You could always pass along our website to someone who could use one of our collegiate maternity shirts.  They make a great baby shower gift!  A sale would certainly pump some life back in me! If not, I know I will find motivation again.  Hopefully I will do so before the motivation balloon pops for good.

Tags: FSU Seminole Maternity Shirt, UF Gator Maternity Shirt, USF Bulls Maternity Shirt

Don’t Get Me Wrong…

Life is good.  Employed husband.  Some sense of normalcy again, whatever “normal” is these days.  Now, instead of having my husband home all the time, I have my two children home for the summer.  The entire summer.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love my children and it is the first summer neither one of them is going to daycare and/or camp.  I’m just not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

The week my husband was let go from his job, it was spring break for my kids and I had a friend visiting from up north (poor thing had to be here during one of the worst times of our life).  It was nice having everyone around for that week. We went to Busch Gardens, we went to the beach, we went to lunch.  It was like a “staycation”.  I took almost a whole entire week off of both jobs.  Beautiful.  Peaceful. Relaxing.  But, I couldn’t wait to have everyone gone and to have my house back to myself.  Um yeah.  That didn’t happen.

On the last day of spring break, my husband came home from work.  For good.  Great.  Not only did I have to deal with all the emotional and financial ramifications, but there went my peace and quiet in my house.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love my husband with every fiber of my being, but there is a lot to be said about having alone time.  Especially when I am used to working in a nice, quiet house.  By myself.  No one else.  Just me and the walls.  There went that.

After a few weeks we settled into a routine.  I got used to the television blaring shoot ‘em up, knock ‘em out action flicks.  I got used to my husband asking me a thousand times a day where something was.  I got used to fighting over the computer.  Yes, we actually have two computers, but we seem to fight over the one laptop.  Which is mine by the way.  Then came the fabulous, wonderful news..gainful employment!  Yippee!  Just what we had hoped and prayed for.  Finally.  Money coming in.  Resume life.  But, the news came the same week the kids finished school.  Great.  There went my peace and quiet.  Again.

Don’t get me wrong.  I am looking forward to spending the time with my children.  We have never had a “real” summer of breaks and fun.  I am looking forward to sleeping in (past 6:00 am).   I am looking forward to days by the pool.  I am looking forward to the beach.  I am looking forward to lazy days.  I am excited to do fun and exciting things together and to get some real quality time that we don’t get during the school year.  The problem?  Work!  When and where and how I am going to get my work done?

With limited financial means this summer, outside childcare will be limited as well.  I do have a great nanny who will visit once or twice a week.  That resolves job number one.  Job number two?  Well, I guess I’m just going to have to play that one by ear.  It will get done when it gets done.  Move over work schedule.   Here comes flexibility.  Welcome to summer, right? But hey, if you want to help contribute to my childcare funds, feel free to go to our website and buy any one of our collegiate maternity shirts:  University of Florida Gators, University of South Florida Bulls, or Florida State University.  Any one will do!

Tags: FSU Seminole Maternity Shirt, UF Gator Maternity Shirt, USF Bulls Maternity Shirt