Sigh...

I guess the thing about blogging is that if you want to be successful, you actually have to carve out a little bit of time each day to write.

As you can see, I haven't been as faithful to this thing as I originally intended.

But I'm back!

Much has happened this (lack there of) fall. Life and it's changes are happening at a pace faster than can keep up with.

In the last two months....

I turned 30, celebrated with my in laws, and had family portraits taken.

Halloween weekend brought us a freak snowstorm that gave us 15 inches of snow in 12 hours and left us without power for 4 days.

I got a semi promotion that I wasn't expecting at all and am thriving in my new role.

Malone has turned from sweet infant/toddler into an opinionated whiny crazy fun toddler (basically everything that is two).

We drove to IL for Thanksgiving and had a lovely time visiting with my family. The best part of the trip was seeing my 2 year old and my 70 year old grandparents enjoy playing on the Ipad together, watching cousins bond, and seeing Malone interact with my grandparents' dog.

It seems like just yesterday I was on the beach savoring one last weekend of summer. And here tomorrow will be December 1, which begins the sprint that is the holidays.

Blog-In For Democracy

I've had a bit of a blog break. Self imposed, weather imposed, life imposed.

Each day I wake up and think THIS IS THE DAY! I will start my blogging again today. And each night comes and I am too tired, too mopey, too everything.

But this is a game changer. And I am happy and proud to participate. I am inspired.

Dear 2012 Presidential Candidates,

We are your future constituents and we are parents.

We are American mothers and fathers and grandparents and guardians. Our families might be the most diverse in the world. Blended and combined in endless permutations, we represent every major religion, political ideology and ethnic culture that exists. We are made from equal parts biology and choice. Our children come to us in every way possible—including fertility miracles, adoption, and remarriage.

Our very modern families embody the freedom that defines America. We embody America. We are rich in diversity, but we are united in our family values. We come together today, with one voice, to express our grave disappointment in the national political discourse.

The 2012 countdown has barely begun and we are already being bombarded with the warmed-over, hypocritical rhetoric of 2008. We are living in a time where 15.1% of Americans now live in poverty, the unemployment rate stands at 16%, and we are spending close to $170 billion annually between the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan*.

Given the current state of affairs we would expect every candidate to focus on the issues that truly matter: job creation, debt-relief, taxes, education, poverty, and ending the war(s). Instead, it is already clear to us that the conversation has been hijacked, with the goal of further polarizing our nation into a politically motivated and falsely created class-war.

We will not stand for another campaign year in which politicians presume to know what our family values are as they relate to the nation.

To be clear, here are our family values:

• Affordable health care, including family planning, for all Americans. We will not tolerate any candidate using the shield of “Choice” to blind us from the issues that really matter. When funding is stripped from organizations like Planned Parenthood, access to sliding-scale health care (including yearly pap smears & mammograms), comprehensive sex education, and family planning is blocked from the poorest of the population.
• Access to education, and the ability to actually use it. We want quality, affordable, federally-funded pre-K programs made available in every State, in order to provide an even starting point for all children enrolled in public schools— regardless of the wealth of the district or town they live in.
• A reinstatement of regulations for banks issuing mortgages and full prosecution for those who engaged in fraudulent lending practices. We want full accountability —investigation, indictment and prosecution— of those individuals and institutions who engaged in fraudulent lending practices and who helped create the massive foreclosures that left many families homeless or struggling to keep their homes.
• A return of strict environmental regulations protecting water, air, food, and land that were removed in the last two decades. We want our children to grow up in a world not weighed down by the strains of pollution and global warming. Between BPA in our products, sky-rocketing rates of asthma in kids, questionable hormones in our over-processed food, and more, we need leaders who will put our needs and safety over the desires and profits of large corporations.

Family planning, health care, education, economic solvency and environmental safety: these are our national family values.

Candidates who demonstrate the ability to understand the gravity of these issues, and their impact on our families, and who can provide actual, viable solutions to these problems will garner our support and our votes.

We believe in this democratic system of ours, and we will continue to use our voices and our votes to see that it reaches its fullest potential.

Sincerely,
Your future constituents,
The mothers & fathers of America

If you would like to forward this letter to your elected officials, you can find their contact info at the following links: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

* Sources for stats: http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/13/news/economy/poverty_rate_income/index.htm http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.4452bed82adf3124e5884678e236d7fb.361 http://costofwar.com/en/

To see who is participating in Blog-In 2011, please click here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pBuBqfCu9ReVNmMu-F08TX6HXhLps98756FkVNBMAE4/edit

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The grass is greeners.

At this time last year I started working on a plan to leave my stay at home mom days and enter the workforce full time. I went back to work on my own terms and I knew it was the right decision for ME- it was 100% selfish. It wasn't about the extra money, although it is nice. It was about carving out a space in my day that wasn't about diapers, naps, or child development.

My one year anniversary of returning back to work is coming up. I believe in the vision of my company, I am satisfied in my job duties and the work is rewarding and fulfilling.

Yet.....

I am uneasy. I am uncomfortable. I am unsettled.

I know I'm not the only mama who has gone back to work out there that feels this way.

Malone is thriving at daycare and I know it is the right place for him. He comes home happy and excited to share his day with us.

We've got the two working parents thing down pretty well. We each know our strengths and use them in the day to day balance of it all. There is a great rhythm to our day.

I'm having a touch of the grass is greeners. I ache for more time with Malone. Will I look back on this season with regret? I'm not sure.

I am conflicted.

And I've decided that it is okay to feel that way.

Where I'm From - a writing excercise.

I am from my grandfather's garden, from New Kids On The Block, and Indian summer.

I am from the house on the black top just outside of town. A house my grandparents worked and saved for to make their own. A house that is now someone else's home.

I am from the knee high by the 4th of July corn and the sweet perfect cherry tomato picked right off the vine.

I am from Come, Lord Jesus be our guest, meatloaf served at holiday meals, and the greatest stories ever retold, from Hartley and Ralph and Rosemary and JoDee.

I am from the inside joke Christmas gift, a post meal nap, and the Easter Eggs hidden in ridiculous places. From sports teams that get your hopes up and the phrase "wait till next year."

I am from the proud, loyal, and stubborn. The hard working, the savers and sage advice givers.

I am from the your love of reading with take you far, because I said so, don't make me pull this car over, and I always have time to go for a walk with you.

I am from the candle lit Christmas Eve church service and songs so familiar they are written on my heart.

I am from the Midwest via Sweden, Kringla, Cream Of XYZ Soup, and Oreo Dessert.

I am from the Papa who fell off the roof and broke his leg because he thought it was a good idea to stand on a bucket instead of use a ladder, the Nana who said "I told you so", and the Papa who thought it really wasn't that big of deal.

I am gone now and planting my roots somewhere else. But I will always be from a postage stamp between four cornfields. From Tastee Freeze, the swimming pool, and Town & Country Days.

I'm linking this up with Mama Kat, thanks for the awesome writing prompt!

The Great Purge Of 2011

Things here are messy.

How we got here, I don't know. Actually, I do know. Increased hours at work for me = less of me to go around. I've been focusing on parenting Malone and connecting with my husband. Together, we've managed to keep up on the laundry, the dishes, and putting food on the table.

I think we've done an excellent job given the circumstances.

Our "mess" is part of a larger problem. We have too many things and everywhere you look the clutter is creeping. It is time to purge and pass things on to others who can use it.

I've got several questions currently running through my head as I prepare for The Great Purge Of 2011.

Maybe you can help me answer them.

What should a toddler's (who goes to daycare) wardrobe look like? I love clothes and dressing Malone. I am the queen of the second hand store and his fall wardrobe is huge. I need to prune it.

I have a whole pile of novels to read. Some of these were purchased from my pre-Malone days. Should I keep a few and pass on the rest? At the rate I'm going, they are all not getting read anytime soon.

How many pairs of shoes does a full time work at home mom need?

Stay tuned for the answers as I work through this. And, if you have any tips or suggestions on decluttering, PLEASE leave them in the comments.

This Magic Moment.....

Everyday is full of magical moments. Life sometimes gives you a big one- a first date, a first kiss, a proposal, a birthday, a new job, a wedding, the birth of a child, etc. Those are moments I will ALWAYS remember.

But the smaller moments are the ones I don't want to forget.

I don't want to forget what it felt like to have Malone follow me around in the supermarket for the first time, pushing his own carriage. He was so excited to choose his own favorites- strawberry milk, granola for Daddy, yogurt, and cheese. Onlookers marveled at how well he listened. I was bursting with love and mama pride as we shopped together.


I don't want to get this face- the face that is perfectly stuck between baby and kid. A toddler who has much to say about the world he lives in.

"I live in Massy-chooo-sets, Papa Grob & Nana B live in Wah-sin-ten, Papa & Nana live in Ellie-noise, Cousin Andrew lives in Pencil-vas-nia."




I don't want to forget this day, when we shared a late afternoon picnic at the beach with extended family. I don't want to forget the way the sun provided a perfect backdrop and how fun it was to throw Malone in the air as high I as I could. I don't want to forget how he laughed and asked for more.

(My sister in law took this picture with my camera, but the idea was mine)

I could go on and on. I could wax poetic about magical moments. I could probably get my friend Tara to write an awesome haiku about them. But instead, I'll stop here and link up with Shell at Things I Can't Say.

A Parenting PSA To Myself.

I'm spending the weekend with my extended family. My nephew is six months younger than Malone. My brother in law and sister in law have their own parenting style. It is similar in a lot of ways, but also different.

I care a lot for my brother in law and sister in law, and love my nephew to pieces. It is hard to see them go through some of the same challenges we went through with Malone six month ago. After spending some time reflecting, I realized I've been offering unwanted/asked for advice disguised under the "this is what worked for us" category.

I have always been a "know it all". When I'm speaking with someone and a subject comes up I know something (ANYTHING!) about, I feel an urgent overwhelming desire to share my knowledge with that person. Even if they don't care or didn't ask for my advice. It is an extremely difficult desire for me to reign in.

Unfortunately, this often makes me come across as arrogant. It also makes me seem unlikeable. But the thing is, is that I really am trying to come from a place of love. Really. I am. It just gets lost in translation.

The thing about kids is that they are all different- beautiful, unique, and no two (even twins) are the same. Therefore, a parenting style/advice/tip/whatever that might work for me, might not work for them. After all, my kid is different from theirs.

Lesson learned.