mediocre mommy

So, this happened last night. Kindergarten here we come…

Fri, 17 May 2013 06:54:27 -0700

So, this happened last night.

Kindergarten here we come…

Because sometimes you just have to stop what you’re doing...

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:08:51 -0700

Because sometimes you just have to stop what you’re doing and have an ice cream cone with your kids.

The last day or two I’ve seen so many great stories and...

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:51:14 -0700

The last day or two I’ve seen so many great stories and photos of parents first meeting their children.

This photo is of my beautiful son and I, minutes after he was born. He was so content and I was overjoyed to have him in my arms.

Exactly two weeks prior to this photo, we were informed that his birth mom had chosen us, and we met her for the first time. While this picture was being taken she was sitting a few feet away in her hospital bed. Watching as a stranger rocked her newborn son and telling nurses to ask “his parents” if they had questions.

I’ve tried so many times to write about first meeting Jack, but I struggle to find words big enough, raw enough, heartfelt enough to do it justice.
No matter how much time passes, when I think of that day my heart swells and I am overwhelmed by feelings of love.

Yesterday, I registered that tiny baby for kindergarten. As I passed off the paperwork I was once again grateful to the wonderful woman that made me his mommy.

iwishihadmallets: Today’s post is a bit different. Today, I am...

Wed, 15 May 2013 21:03:03 -0700

iwishihadmallets:

Today’s post is a bit different.

Today, I am doing something I don’t quite know how to do.

Today, I am asking for your help.

On September 5th, 2012, the guy you see in the picture, my brother, ended his life. He suffered from chronic depression. For several reasons, lack of benefits, lack of awareness surrounding mental illness, he failed to receive treatment before it was too late.

On October 12th, 2013, I will walk for him, and all the others out there who need help. Those who are still here who need to know there is another option; there is someone, more than one person, who cares; who needs you more than you ever realized.

I am asking for your help. It is too late for my brother. It is not too late for thousands of others out there. Organizations like the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, which is sponsoring the walk, need donations to continue to do the work they do.

Everyone has some charity, some rare disease, some local and/or global concern they want you to donate to. And I guess I’m really no different. I’m not knocking anyone who has ever asked for donations. I just understand that the pain and suffering is vast, and it can feel a bit overwhelming trying to contribute to anything or everything. If you can’t donate, I understand. Pockets aren’t exactly deep these days. But you can help in other ways. Pass this message along. Volunteer. Or, probably most importantly, reach out to a friend you know is struggling. Just tell them you are around and you care. Maybe it won’t be enough. But maybe it will be. And a human life is worth a phone call, text, or email.

Life is a funny thing. Not an hour after my sister and I registered for the AFSP walk, one of my favorite Tumblrs sent me this article. It is an article about the sudden loss of a close, close friend. One of the most poignant quotes in the article was this:

“I regret the cute haircut I got last week, because Heather never saw me with my hair like this, so now I am a person she has never seen, and the distance between us gets a little bigger.

My youth feels like a ghost town, an abandoned and dilapidated house I don’t have the keys to anymore. I stand at the window looking in, and I can make out some of the pictures on the walls, and I can see the photo albums on the shelves, but I can’t see what’s inside them. I can’t see the details. Our special language of coded facial expressions and inside jokes is useless.”

Suicide is real. It is permanent. It is forever.

Thank you, friends.

Donate here.

signs of a great vacation (also: indicators it might be time to go home)

Mon, 13 May 2013 07:41:35 -0700

my pants are legitimately tighter than they were when we got here
my skin is starting to resemble George Hamilton’s
doughnuts and cocktails have become their own food group

the girl.

Sat, 11 May 2013 18:51:00 -0700

the girl.

the boy.

Sat, 11 May 2013 18:50:55 -0700

the boy.

These kids are good at vacation.

Sat, 11 May 2013 10:28:54 -0700

These kids are good at vacation.

Ready for a great Disneyland day!

Thu, 09 May 2013 08:54:01 -0700

Ready for a great Disneyland day!

Truthful Tuesday:

Tue, 07 May 2013 21:08:44 -0700

Mediocre Daddy and I have been keeping a secret…

You see, we told the kids months ago that we were going to Daddo and Amma’s house in California. And we told them that it would be warm, sunny and there would be lots of swimming. And they were thrilled.

But what we didn’t tell them, until today, is that we are going to Disneyland.

Tomorrow.

In less than an hour I get to have a cup of coffee with this girl. I’m pretty excited about...

Mon, 06 May 2013 08:05:50 -0700

In less than an hour I get to have a cup of coffee with this girl.

I’m pretty excited about it.

I realized last night, as I kicked my feet up on the deck and...

Sat, 04 May 2013 06:33:10 -0700

I realized last night, as I kicked my feet up on the deck and watched the sun sink in the sky, that it was the first time I’d truly exhaled since early March.

Thankful Thursday:

Thu, 02 May 2013 20:52:16 -0700

Tomorrow morning we are getting on an airplane and flying to Palm Springs, California for eleven days of sunshine and swimming.

We have to get up ridiculously early and I should be trying to sleep but I’m too excited…yeah, I’m that girl.

Jack wrote all this without asking for help…I’m so...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:49:46 -0700

Jack wrote all this without asking for help…I’m so proud of what an awesome kid he is!
I feel like he is ready for kindergarten this fall.

By 7:15pm this evening… My children were both asleep, I...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 20:25:00 -0700

By 7:15pm this evening…

My children were both asleep, I was freshly showered with my favorite nightgown on and I had an Oreo blizzard with extra Oreo.

I’m winning at Sunday.

On the weekends Jack and Gigi have a slumber party together in...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 07:06:55 -0700

On the weekends Jack and Gigi have a slumber party together in one of their rooms.
There are few things more special than watching both your children sleeping side by side.

Saturday morning UNO battle.

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 09:11:17 -0700

Saturday morning UNO battle.

Life with Boogie & Squeaks: Boogie is my Best Teacher

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 21:16:10 -0700

Life with Boogie & Squeaks: Boogie is my Best Teacher:

This woman is my parenting role model…

Like my ridiculously adorable crocheted headband? Of course you...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:06:35 -0700

Like my ridiculously adorable crocheted headband? Of course you do. Well guess what…a fellow Tumblr made it.

She makes lots of ridiculously adorable crocheted items for kids and grownups (although I must use that term loosely when speaking of myself).

AND, I believe she is still offering 15% off your order on her Etsy page with the code 20132013.

Mediocre Daddy brought the kids little calculators from work

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 07:55:00 -0700

and my gut reaction was to flip it upside down and show them how the numbers can spell BOOBIES.

seriously, who let me become a parent?