V is for Visitors

Playing catch-up again........oh well, we're almost done and then i can plan again for next year........So, V is for Visitors.  I love visitors.  I love to talk.  Actually, both the hubby and I are talkers.  We're the couple that will love you to death and will keep you forever.....so, when visiting, be ready to at least stay for a meal or overnight!  Before kids, we had a lot of parties.  I assumed that once kids arrived, we would back off some......actually, they just add to the fun!  So, come on over!!

U is for Underwear

I wish I would have known how much of my daily consciousness is spent considering my underwear.  Of course, every woman has her own issues.  I, for one, am a bit round shaped.  Well, i guess more egg shaped.  my neck being the top of this egg.  To put it out there, i have no butt or hips.  Some might claim they spend hours in a gym to get rid of theirs, but there are probably many things I would be ashamed to say out loud that I would do to get a butt and something that resembles hips.  In any case, where was I?  Oh yes, my issue with underwear.  I have a few pairs of panties.........you know the ones you really don't want to wear but they are the only ones left clean and you have no choice?  yeah, those.  well, they tend to want to run away......I'll be walking to a meeting and know it's going to happen........and I'm walking and walking and I feel the top hem starting to fold.......I'm praying that i can at least make it to the elevator before..........oh no, the roll has started........and it's rolling down......please please please stop at my hips.....nope, no hips......and now my panties have rolled themselves into one of those super tight inner-tube like pythons around my thighs........now, I'm walking with a little less pep, trying to do the secret pantie grab in the elevator....knowing it's just too late........have to go to the ladies room and essentially start over.  pulling them up as high as i possibly can......tuck the hem under my bra?........sigh.  guess that should be motivation to keep up with the laundry!

I've heard of ladies having the opposite problem, but have never experienced the ride-up.  Do you all just wish for empty elevator to pick it out? I can't even imagine wearing a thong!  always feeling like you have a wedgie and never getting any relief and knowing you did it to yourself?!  One question, why?

to end, I'll quote my sister with a panty-relevant statement she made in her teens....
"i have a much better day when i wear full-seated panties" - AWM

Amen.

T is for Time

Where did it go?  I'm quite certain that at 18 there was plenty of it and I had a pretty decent plan for the spending of it.........and now I'm not quite sure what happened to it.  This is official notice to whoever stole my time, I'm coming after you!!!  You will give me back my TV time.....my play time.....my craft time.......my sleep time.........and I want it fully intact and moving slowly, got it?!!  Even my blogs are getting terribly short and FB status-like because I can't find the time!!

S is for Seasons

I waited my whole life to be the type of person who decorates for each season, I even have a little thing for each holiday within those seasons.......but, I've also found that with each passing year (and added child) the seasons come and go before I realize that I forgot to put the new stuff up.  Yep, 2014 will be the year that we make it through most of Spring and my snowflakes are still up!  Of course, that's almost accurate for this year, right?  Hope you got your stuff up in a timely manner!

R is for Romance

I have to roll my eyes when girls talk about their overblown proposals and the fancy dinners out and the 'by-the-cosmopolitan-book' romantic gestures.  You know that's just the peacock feathers, right?  real romance is picking up an extra pack of gum so your car has one too or walking by and simply pulling her ponytail out of her shirt and your hand brushes the back of her neck.  Or sitting and letting her watch a 'stupid' TV show and occasionally asking questions just to make her believe you are interested, but of course you're not really (yeah, right).  Keep your damn roses, gals and get a real life!

Q is for Qat and Qi

Not sure what else to write for Q except to give you the nifty bit of information that Qat and Qi are excellent uses of a Q in scrabble-like games.  Cheers!

P is for Procrastination

When you're younger, about high school age, and you are just learning the skills of time management, you probably convinced yourself that procrastination worked for you.  You did a better a job when you wait until the last minute.  Then you continue that into college.  However, as you add on more cards to your life-size game of life.......work, spouse, house, kids, menus, laundry, budgets, birthdays, holidays, bills, etc.............guess what?  Procrastination is just an excuse to be lazy or not manage your time.  I am quite guilty of it at times and it makes me crazy when I look back at all the time I wasted instead of just getting stuff done!  My niece's birthday was this past Saturday.  She wanted a Shirley Temple dress.  Ok.  I started 2 months ahead of time.  i ordered the petite skirt and bought the fabric for the dress.  I had two months..........guess who sat down to make the dress on the Tuesday before the birthday?  Yeah.  And then realized I didn't have a zipper, so it carried over to Thursday.  So, the week of Easter, I'm making a dress......trying hideous egg craft projects......managing the t-ball schedule......packing to go out of town......and and and......I could have had my entire Tuesday freed up for one of these other to-do list things if I just followed through with some decent time management.  Imagine....it only took me a few hours to make the dress......those few hours had to have been somewhere in those 2 months....but were probably spent watching TV or playing candy crush.  Ack.  I start each week with a goal not to procrastinate.  Sometimes I win, other times I don't, but it's only on me when I don't.  DON'T PROCRASTINATE!  YOU'LL JUST BE CRAZY!

BONUS BLOG - Yarn Eggs......or NOT!

I have to say, I don't usually try things I'm not confident I can pull off when it comes to crafts, so I don't usually get to entertain the concept of 'Craft Fail'.  Guess what I did this week?  You betcha!  Craft Fail!

So, saw this awesome craft for yarn eggs.  Looked easy enough.  Looked cute.  I was anticipating taking some to my neighbors, the kids taking them to teachers, taking them to co-workers, etc.  Oh, how the mighty have fallen.












1.  Gather your supplies:

-  Glue and water mixture
-  Yarn and water balloons - blown up (guess what?  water balloons were not designed to be blown up with air. So, i had to use that little yellow thingy you see in the corner that is meant to screw on your faucet, then blow through that)
- Candy - guess what else doesn't actually fit in the top hole of a water balloon-sized balloon?  that's right.  so, at this point I was already skeptical about the truth-telling ability of the creator of this craft!  we decided to just try to fit candy into the eggs after they were done.

 2.  applying yarn (i don't think this should have actually been done with yarn, contrary to the instructions.....you'll see...)
- cut yarn
- dip in gluey stuff
- wrap on balloons

3.  Be very skeptical, but continue to try at this point.......for the sake of your blog

4.  When dry, pop balloons and let child investigate.......you can totally tell he's impressed.

this was THE good one.  I made 12.......

Yarn Eggs!

O is for Orange

This particular post is for my mom.  As a kid, I was all about the flavors chocolate or grape.  I think there is a scientific thing behind that though.  My mom always went to orange or vanilla.  BORING!  Just put on some beige and your done! :)

Guess what I learned?  Chocolate and grape are never consistent and they STAIN!  Vanilla and Orange are pretty much always the same and dependable and very rarely STAIN!  Guess what else, you can mix vanilla and orange and get something mighty fine, but try mixing chocolate and grape.....yuck!

From my college days:  vanilla ice cream+a little milk+spoonful of orange tang+blender = DAMN GOOD

In conclusion...........Mom, you were right! :)

N is for Nights

When I was younger, nights seems to drag on forever.  I could stay up all night.  They were great except when you're trying to get to the other side like Christmas morning.....now, it seems the night just appears before i'm ready, then there just isn't enough of it and morning comes way too soon and most of my nights are spent waking every hour or two to listen for the kids, checking on dogs, making sure the hubby is still breathing in a regular pattern.....nights.  I hope someday i get to enjoy them again!

M is for Money

Doesn't everyone wish they had known a little bit more about money?  How hard it is it to earn.  How easily to leaves you?  How you never seem to have enough?  

Here's a cute little poem I found and liked and will end it with this.

Lunch Money

by Carol Diggory Shields

Don't ask Dad -- he never has any, 

Grandma's purse has a nickle and a penny.

Mom has a five, but the car needs gas, 

Here's a dirty quarter someone found in the grass.

Checked all our pockets -- nothing but gum

piggy bank, piggy bank, here I come!

L is for Love

I wish I had known that love isn't any one thing or any one way.  Sometimes you can't help it and sometimes you have to work really hard on it.  Sometimes it's overstated and sometimes you may never know it is or was there.  

love

  [luhv]  Show IPA

noun

1.

a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.

2.

a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend

3.

sexual passion or desire.

4.

a person toward whom love is felt; beloved person; sweetheart.

I'm just going to leave it at that since I really don't have anything inspiring for profound to say tonight.  Sorry.

K is for Kids! Duh!

I'm not even sure what there is that I wish I had known about kids before I had them.  I always heard about "just wait until you have kids", but I was always the one who couldn't wait to have them no matter what was in store.  I once had a dream as a teenager that my destiny was to be someone's mother.  A great someone.  Not exactly the Queen Mum, but you get the idea.  My greatest accomplishment will be my children.  I guess I do wish I had some insight into who they will be so I could make sure they get there........you know, maybe iron out some of the bumps along the way?  Oh well, in the words of Professor River Song, "Spoilers...".  Maybe i'll just have to save this and re-blog in 20 years and tell you how it goes!

Bonus points if you know who I just referenced without having to Google her!

J is for reJuvenate!

Did you know that you can be rejuvenated and unrejuvenated, but there is no such word as juvenate?  don't you love the English language?  in any case, i'm invoking the right of poetic license and calling at the J!

I wish I knew.....that gardening was not as easy as my dad always made it look!

So, today is the first day in a while that I really feel much better.  I think the meds are doing there thing.  It's also FRIDAY!  and the weather is finally WONDERFUL!  So, I came home, put on some summer-ish clothes and went out to begin the re-Juvenating of my garden.

Two years ago I just had a miscarriage and I was determined to do things, so we had a kick-butt garden.  Last year, however, I was quite successfully pregnant and although i tried to clear out the boxes to plant......we barely got cucumbers out of it.  This year, though, I've got some ideas to try!

(please ignore our fences.....that's the next project to tackle!)

So, i started with a mess....... I pulled out the old stalks and cut down the grass.........

Box 1

Before (above)          After (Below)

Box 2

                                                Before (above)          After (Below)

Box 3

 Before (above)          After (Below)

Started laying a decent layer of newspaper and some compost dirt on top.

I need to finish the newspapering and dirting (is that a word?) then get the yard guy to haul some good manure dirt in and then we're off!!!  So excited to get some good stuff out of it this year!

I is for ICE CREAM!

Yup, I is for Ice Cream......lame, but I'm tired and loopy on meds.......

I wish I had known there were more flavors than just chocolate!

Ever notice how your kids will always go to the truly nasty flavored stuff just because it's bright and colorful and has candy stuck in it?

I want that job....design nastiness for kids.  Yup!  Night folks!

H is for Hate

Going to be short and sweet tonight folks since apparently, in true Mom style, i let my little cold grow to double inner and outer ear infections with a side of strep.  Hey moms, go to the doctor when you don't feel good!

Anyway, hate.  

Definition according to Wikipedia:  Hatred is a deep and emotional extreme dislike that can be directed against individuals, entities, objects, or ideas. Hatred is often associated with feelings of anger and a disposition towards hostility

I cringe at the use of the word Hate.  It's such a very strong and permanent word.  I don't allow my kids to use the word.  I don't doubt that there will come a day in their lives when they will truly be something present that will warrant the word, but at 6, 3, and well, 0, there shouldn't be anything bad enough that they would have enough experience with to pin the word hate onto.

Hate should be reserved for the really really really awful things or people that have caused us so much pain and hurt that the scars left will never fully heal.  Something or someone that breaks you down so far that those little alarms go off in your head at the mere thought.....that probably gets some hate.

Chores.........food.........kisses from a crazy aunt........long meetings...................these do not qualify.  Come on, people, chores....are a necessity but it's not like you can't do them or they will kill you or you have to do the same one constantly.........food.....tastes buds change..........you will miss every affectionate embrace when they are gone.........and well, meetings, occasionally you get a good one where something gets done....or someone brings donuts or cake, right?

I have only since having kids really taken on this point of view.  Before that, hate was just another word.  Then I heard it come out of my little guy's mouth and I realized what I was planting in him.  I'd rather teach him to elaborate on his feelings of dislike or non-preference than give him an easy out with a little word that should really be reserved for something there is no other word for.

G is for Grass

I wish I had known just how much I would dislike (not hate) GRASS!

Growing up, my parents had two girls and my dad was in the military, so, guess who got to mow grass when Daddy was away?  Me (and I honestly don't remember if my sister got to share in that joy).  It was something I did to earn my allowance.

In college and in my first apartments, it was something that ought to look nice because I was paying for it to be, but I could never figure out why it always had to be cut at the crack of dawn!

In our first townhouse, we had a little patch.  We mowed it and sat in it and it was fine.  

Then, we started looking for a house.....must have a yard!  I had one little boy at the time, expecting our second kid (didn't know boy or girl yet) and all of the house-buying myths tell you......you must have a yard for kids to play in.  For a dog to run in.  But, guess, what?  They never really tell you how much work it is!  You have to mow that crap like once (sometimes more) a week!  It doesn't stop!  Just another reason I enjoy fall so much!  The grass slows......and eventually stops....just for a brief moment.

It's like a life sentence.  If you drive around in the middle of the day in your neighborhood, especially in the spring, just count how many retired guys are not living it up somewhere......they are mowing their grass.  Fertilizing their grass.  Sweeping up around the edges.  Just looking at it.  Carrying out their sentence.  It’s no longer a chore......it's life.  At least most of them have gotten a bit of a parole and granted the use of a riding mower, but still.............grass!!  acckkk!!  It will get you!!!

Since moving in, we've tried to devise ways of killing it without actually parking cars on it and looking like we're having a perpetual yard sale (you know the houses I'm talking about).  We triple-weed blocked the back third of our yard, covered it in mulch and installed the playground..........2 months later, guess what?  You would never have known I spent hours on my hands and knees sentencing that grass to the dark tomb of weed-block.  Nope.  Great big, tall, ugly grass.  Growing.  Taunting me.  I used to tell myself I enjoyed mowing.........around and around and around with every circle getting smaller and smaller, like some sort of game.  I composed quite a few blogs during those laps.  My husband also lost quite a few arguments on those laps.  No.......he wasn't with me.....I knew what he would say, so I just said his parts for him......he loses every time I use this handy time-saving method of arguing.  :)  

Why am I mowing, you may ask, when I have a perfectly capable hubby?  Good question.  Probably the same reason I don't cook.  I can, if I have to, but I don't really like to, so there.  He took over the task of grass murder while I was pregnant..........then I got a yard guy.  Best decision ever!  I still continue to scheme ways to kill it all and still have an attractive landscape, but, well, that takes A LOT more money than just getting some kid to make it go away weekly.

So, advice.  

Grass is OVER RATED!

If you end up with the green nightmare to defeat...hire a knight in the form of a teenage kid with a lawnmower!

F is for Friends

Here's a slightly more serious post for you.....

I wish I had know that friends change.  As a kid, you have your friends, and you may even have your bestestest friends.......and you think you'll be friends forever!  and you may.......but, it's also perfectly normal that you don't.  I forget where I read it, but it is SO true!

There are 3 types of friends:

1.  Those for a reason (maybe your co-workers - you share everything, you go to lunch, etc.  but when one of you moves on, you may not be as close or keep in contact at all).

2.  Those for a season (your high school friends - you were inseparable for 4 years, but then you went to different schools and found partners and maybe move away, etc.)

3.  Those for a lifetime.  - these are the rare few.  And, keep in mind.....a lifetime can start at any point....so maybe you didn't know them until college or even sometime long after, but once you're hooked, you're dedicated for life.

Also, I've found, some people you think are for a lifetime, may suddenly be a seasonal or vice-versa.  I keep these three types in mind, though, when I feel like I've failed in a relationship.  I've put in the effort to try to keep it together and it's just not happening......this list helps me to put things in perspective, appreciate what I gained from the relationship, contemplate how I grew and what I may want to change about myself and move on.  It gives me closure and the clean-slate I need to not dwell on the past.

Hope this helps you!

E is for Eggs

I wish I had know how easy eggs were.......

Even to this day, I call my mom and all I have to say is "you know that thing I never write down...." and she begins to recite how to hard boil an egg.  Mind you, her technique never fails.  So, here it is:

1.  Place one layer of eggs in your pan

2.  fill the pan with cold water until about one inch above the eggs

3.  Bring to a boil

4.  Cover and remove from heat

5.  Allow to sit until for 10-15 minutes

6.  Quickly transfer eggs to an ice bath

Yep, that's it.  I've been out of town and now i'm sick, so I'm catching up on posts.  I promise to improve!!

D is for Dinner

Now, I can't really say that I wish I had known how important dinner was, but the truth is, I always knew.  Dinner was very important growing up.  Dinner was a time to vent, a time to tease, a time to interrogate, and a time to initiate.  I think both my husband and my brother-in-law could attest to that last point.  if you can't survive Sunday dinner that could last 2 - 3 hours and be an endless loop of stories about Scotland........you aren't going to make it!

So, my point, doesn't really matter what dinner is.......

-  A bunch of appetizers around the kitchen counter ('Mermaids' style, thank you, Cher)
-  A platter of wings and tiny bruschettas on the coffee table while watching some Skins football
-  An 'interesting' dinner of Pinterest successes and fails where everyone smiles at mom and thanks her for trying..
-  or even a no-hold-barred Sunday night turkey dinner with all the fixin's

Or who shows up at the table....

Bring them in, open up, and build some love!!

C is for Church

Church-y things to think about...

Ok, yeah, I’m going there.  I'm going to tackle a sensitive subject and hope to make some sense without offending anyone........wish me luck!

I grew up as a Presbyterian. As a child, I participated in all the stuff at church.  I was in the choir, I went to Sunday school, and I did all the extras that were age appropriate.  When I was a teenager, we moved to a new place and we started going to a new church.  I was not welcomed by the majority of kids my age.  I hadn't grown up with them, you know?  Because of those kids, I hated Sunday School, I hated having to go to choir, and I REALLY hated youth group.  The group of kids were the very opposite of what I would have defined as having a Christian spirit.  Bless the few who recognized my anguish and helped me find a place.  Instead of going to Sunday school, I taught Sunday school.  I started with 3rd graders, moved up with them until they hit middle school, fell in love with the whole age group and stayed put.  I taught for a total of 8 years.  I remember actually having parents tell me that there kids wanting to come to my class was the reason the whole family showed up on Sundays.  

Now, I have to add a side note here and tell you that I was your typical SS teacher.  I hated the curriculums they gave me to teach.  Talk about Cheesy and lame!  So, I would hit the Jesus Bookstore and find stuff I thought would inspire and breed conversation.  I wasn't into telling them what to believe and think.  I wanted them to get a good idea, but I wasn't about to give them the answers.  I was in high school.  Who the heck was I to hand out answers, right?  I also did crafts, lots and lots of crafts.  For those who deal with middle school-ers......or dread the thought of it......the secret is to remember you're in the halfway zone.  They want to be talked to like people and given responsibility, but they are also still kids who love hugs and want to play in glue and glitter!

Anyway, another side note that will move this on.....the only girl my age that would give me the time of day, was Sarah.  She quickly found out we went to the same school and arranged for me to ride with her to school instead of having to ride the bus.  She wasn't the popular one, or the cool one, but she was the decent one.  She was also a bit of an outsider at church since she had come out as bi-sexual.

It was Christmas Eve service of 2006.  I was waiting for service to start with my sister-in-law and niece and in comes Sarah, in tears, and said she had been asked to stay out of the Sunday School wing because parents were afraid she would influence their children and it was suggested to her by a certain high-up lady of the church that she might want to find a more accepting church.  I left.  Just got up and left.  During the following week, I cleared out my classroom, left a note telling my kids that sometimes you have to make a big move to stand up for your beliefs, and I left.  I later found out that my kids were told I had to move away suddenly and they never saw my note.

You know, my whole life, I just assumed that everyone around me, unless they were Jewish, were Christian.  What else was there?  All my friends celebrated Christmas and Easter, so, duh.  Never did it cross my mind that those two events could be just part of our culture.  There are actually quite a few people who really don't think twice about what they believe or don't believe. 

In any case, I didn't go to any church for a year.  As a former pastor of mine pointed out, ‘church’ actually became a pain-word for me.  I started to question everything I had been told to believe.  Did I really believe it or had I just gotten into a comfortable routine and made a habit of it? 

Then my son was born and I knew we needed to find a church home.  We followed my parent's to their church.  It's a UnitarianUniversalist Church.  

That being said, don't assume that just because we call where we go on Sunday a Church, that it is necessarily Christian.  We have Christian roots, and many of our faith family hold very deep Christian values, however, guess what?  The Christians don't have a monopoly on all the good stuff.  Just about every faith group has the same spin on how to be a good person and a great number of the stories are told in one form or another and have been for centuries in all sorts of faith traditions.  Sorry, if I’m rocking your world here.  

I won't go into my specific beliefs, that's not what I’m about.  I would ask of you to open your hearts to the possibilities that it's ok for someone else to believe differently and it's ok.  

I'm going to stop there.......well........one last thing.........this is a reaction I had to an article a FB friend posted about a church that wouldn't let a millionaire gay couple that had grown up there and were active members of the church community get married in their building.

A congregation is a group of people, a family if you will, that supports and grows together in a common belief.  A Church, is a location (building or otherwise), with bills to pay and, thus, requires butts in seats on Sunday and paying rentals during the other 6 days of the week to keep the doors open.  

Just saying....if someone wants to use a building......is willing to pay to do it and is not insisting that you join them for their event......as long as it's not going to burn the place down........what's the problem?

B is for Babies!

I wish I had known.....that you don't know how easy it is to goof it all up and it still turns out alright...with babies!

So, first kid......

-  you celebrate that second pink line with anyone who glances your way (watch out Safeway cashier!)

-  you start wearing maternity clothes immediately just because you can (even though you are probably not going to show until MUCH later)......

-  you pick out everything to be color coordinated

-  your registry is packed with every conceivable ‘thingy’ you can find or that the ‘registry suggestion list’ at the store told you HAVE TO HAVE!

-  You actually buy that damn crib iPod holder because it's SO cool! (true story)

-  Everything is clean and ready a month ahead of time

-  you've read everything about everything and you know it all.  If you're anything like me, you even took notes, college-style, and created yourself a cheat sheet about when the milestones are supposed to be, what you're supposed to be doing, etc.

-  You're convinced that everyone else is doing it WRONG and you can do a much better job

-  Your baby shower……thrown by your sister, of course…….is AMAZING! (do not turn down the baby shower btw…….you will regret it!) J

Kid is born!  Damn, that hurt.  I personally recommend an epidural (well, at least I did after the first two).  It still hurts.  And you're going to hurt after.  DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT,  assume that because you have handled cramps all your life and can take a fall pretty well, that you can make it the first couple of nights without your Percocet!  Oh, and hemorrhoids are REAL.  They are no joke and I heard a nurse refer to them as "Angry Little Men".

Few years later.....

you've finally got the routine down, you can pack a diaper bag with your eyes shut, he's hitting his milestones, got all his shots, and you've managed to have that 'accessory' kid that you can still take with you everywhere and he's pretty good.....

So......sure.....let's have another one.  how much different could it be?  hahahahahahahahaha.........

Guess what?  This is not the oldest or only child we're talking about.  this is the one who had a very close-in-age teacher.......everything is much quicker..........this one will do everything you were warned about with the first and were totally prepared for but that didn't actually happen so you figured everyone else was crazy (like putting everything in their mouths).  Only, this time you let your guard down......heaven help this child.  At least now you've learned that a food processor works just fine to puree canned veggies.. (you can get 5-6 baby servings of veg from 1 can that cost less than a buck!)......the baby DOES NOT need to be changed every 1-2 hours (unless they really do - which will happen the moment they get a fresh diaper on their butt - for some reason, a fresh diaper induces poop!) so you might actually save a diaper or two a day.......which extends that pack an extra day or two (score!).  

Eventually, the second one catches up to a self-sufficient stage where you can manage both kids with the same food, bedtime routine, set of books, etc.  

then you start to realize that you're probably done..........done........your ovaries are now useless.......your womb, empty.........you can start selling stuff in yard sales.........oh no, i'm not ready to let go of my babies..........baby fever.......

and then........

comes number 3.........

guess what?  naked works.......as long as you put a towel down......you really hope you washed everything before you put it in the attic last time because she's wearing it right out of the box because there is nothing else clean at the moment.....and......I hate to admit this......you CAN actually throw a bit of cheeseburger through your little hand-held baby food grinder and mix it with a little formula when there's nothing else........

....and you discover that sometimes, all the routines, and plans, and should-dos are just not as important as the 3 kids lying on the floor laughing together.........or watching your eldest work really hard for the baby's smile.....or eating pita chips, hummus, and carrot sticks really does count as a balanced meal as long as you all sat together and your kids got to tell you about their day. 

So, you start out up-tight...can't help it.  It's survival.  You want to be prepared for anything.  Then you soften and realize that you can't screw up too badly as long as you're present and love them!  Love them for more than they can stand!

Also, realize that it takes a village (thank you, Janette).  You can't do it alone.  You will never be able to afford everything you think they should have on your own.  It's ok to ask for help!

A is for Adult!

Welcome to the blog challenge for 2014!!

First, a little about me.  I am 30-ish, married, with 3 kids (6 yr boy, 3 yr boy, and 6m girl).  I work full time as a contractor and my hubby is a stay-at-home dad.  I generally blog craft items or parties I've thrown.  Sometimes I venture into really 'deep' topics like how women are evil to each other....I will try to entertain and inspire!  I would love to have you as a follower!

 I wanted to be theme-y this year and with a little help from my friends, decided on "Things I Wish I Had Known Before...."

Tonight, A is for Adult.

I wish I had known.....that turning 18 + graduating + getting a job + getting married + babies....doesn't always = Adult

If anyone can tell me what the magic age is when you will truly feel like and adult, please let me know.  I seem to only feel sorta adult-ish at home when I have to be in charge.  At work, and for those of my generation or younger, you can probably relate to this, I always feel like the kid.  I've been at my current job for 8 years......I was in my early twenties when I started there and I'm pretty sure I'm close, if not, exactly the same age as many of my co-workers' kids.  Most of the time, I have no clue what they are going on about when it comes to music, movies, old sayings, etc.  Here's an example: (sorry, Chris T) I forget what we were talking about, but he said "jump the shark".  I just stared.  What the heck???  He had to painfully explain the whole Happy Days saga to me.  Sigh.

Anyway, I'm getting off track.  My words of wisdom for this starter........

If you are a certain youngish-age:  Pay attention, don't be afraid to ask what the heck they are talking about, and don't be afraid to speak up.  They had to work a lot harder than you to learn that click drag &thing and knew what it was to have to write down everything resulting in a great deal of forced memorization of processes, procedures, and the like.  We sorta have it easy the way we can just find anything on google, save it, re-color it, drop it on a PowerPoint and 'ta-da' genius presentation in minutes!

If you are more mature age and work with younger folk, "Please don't mistake our lack of years, for lack of knowledge"  Many of us were born into a time where we had fisher price laptops and full knowledge of every feature and free app by the age of 6.  We can help you simplify!  Also, when you wander off to the wonderful world of retirement, who's in charge then?

Be nice and wonderful and kind to each other, all you peeps of all certain ages!

Stay tuned for tomorrow, when I break open the REAL world of BABIES!!!!!