I'm Baaaaaaack!

My intention was for the title to sound like that old scary movie. You know the one where they go, "They're BAAAaaack!" Okay, well, if you're still around after my six month sabbatical, then you might definitely check out after my explanation of my title!

I had fun playing with Picasa again making my header. We have had snow in Georgia...twice. Seriously, we usually have snow maybe once a year, but we have had it twice. Well, it started out as snow and ended as a big icy mess. They are talking another bout of snow coming before winter is over too. We just don't know what to do with all of that white stuff. Note to self, though, buy marshmallows for the fire BEFORE people clear of the shelves! I guess aside from stocking up on milk, bread, and eggs fellow shoppers had the same idea on did on yummy smores in an ice/snow storm.

These are my sweet girls peeking out the window waiting for the snow. They went to sleep, and they woke up to find the ground covered. Do you remember how magical that was when you were little? It's still pretty magical to me! A week later of missing both school and work resulted in all of us going a little crazy though. For the most part, I loved being "trapped" with my little girls. It was a great week...full of great memories.

It has definitely taken me the full six months to get acclimated to being a part time teacher and a full time mommy and wife. I can't even say that I have the hang of it quite yet! One week, I will be thinking I have got it all under control! Then, BAM (yes, I heard the chef, Emeril Lagasse, in my head when I wrote that!), something happens, and I begin to think what in the world am I doing?! Juggling a dozen balls is the best way to explain it!

Honestly, I love, love my new job. I love the kids and people that I am blessed to work with every week. They have proven to be hard workers and absolutely wonderful kids. I without a doubt have a great deal of passion for my role as mom, but it feels good to use that other passion that God gave me-passion to help kids that don't think or learn "inside of the box".

If I could create the ideal, perfect job, I pretty much have it. I'm not sure if it found me or if I found it! It is doing what I love at a great place....without taking too much time away from my two little priorities. I also have to remind myself that I'm doing it for those two little priorities. We do not have the best schools around where we live. I love being in the same building as my Charlotte. Best of all, by me working, my girls get to go to an awesome school. The education, the atmosphere, and their Christian focus are all what I want for both of them.

Although I haven't been blogging, I've been enjoying blogs. Let's face it...I know some of the people on the blogs I stalk better than some family! My husband, Robert, sometimes has to ask me if I'm talking about a "blog" friend or a "real" friend. There all "real" friends! Plus, blogging helps me keep accountable with what is going on in our lives. I want my girls to know all about their life and the "mama drama" that surrounded it! Being a mama is the most difficult job you'll ever have! I would have LOVE to know what my mom was thinking and going through on the nights I wouldn't sleep, as she juggled opening a business with my father, or the drama a day can bring. Hopefully, my girls will learn from my mistakes as a mama, laugh at our craziness, and be able to understand how wonderful and powerful the job is as a mama!

Thanks for sharing in our drama!

Tammy

"A Mama With Plenty of Wonderful Drama!" 

Random Things...

Random Ramblings...hmmmm....that sounds appropriate.



First, thank you for all of your ideas on getting the blood from poor Little Bit's boo boo out of my couch and her cute outfit. It worked wonderfully...the peroxide and the spray and wash (even though I couldn't throw my couch in the washer). Stitches have dissolved, and she is as good as new! I was even brave enough to leave her with my brother's girlfriend, Katie, while I enjoyed LaLa's end of the year party at preschool. She survived it without another head wound...maybe I will get to leave the house again in the near future without trips to the ER!



Ok, next, have you felt like your world is swirling around in chaos? Yep. Well, that is where I am! I love to organize...the key is...when I have time! I get giddy when I get to organize, yet I have realized with my kids I usually make a bigger mess trying to organize. Part of my chaos is starting and not finishing things. I think I could totally qualify for adult ADD! It amazes me every day that I used to be the most organized, efficient person. However, I am more often the complete opposite post children! I threatened encouraged my husband to sit down with me and create a calendar, list, and plan (yes, charts, lists and calendars make me so happy) for the summer and our to do lists. We have divided those BIG jobs up to be finished during specific times...for example, my garage. It's so scary lately. That's our job for the next week. This week I am diving into laundry (from our trip) and moving both girls’ current season clothes into their new (more later) room's closet. Sounds like it will work doesn't it? Well, let's hope. Otherwise, I am going to go crazy! I cannot stand chaos. I either go crazy and combat it or give up and give in. (I'm probably leaning into the crazy mode right now) It basically boils down to running around too much and not having the time to invest into keeping things in shape. One thing leads to another and you're swimming in chaos! Some people have recommended a house notebook. I have a skeleton of one, but it is not very efficient (it just looks cute!). So, anyone have ideas...let me know!



Our beach trip was wonderful. Too fast. Way to fast. The girls loved the water. I still hate driving THAT far with small children. Ugh...I just kept repeating that it is worth the drive!



I love Bewitched on TV land. However, poor Samantha usually looks wonderful in her cute outfits and twitching her nose. Have you seen the pregnant episodes? Her clothes look like a tent. I can't twitch my nose and make my dishes shine, but at least we have cute maternity clothes now. I'm still trying to convince Robert that I have so many maternity clothes that we just HAVE to have another baby (and adopt one too) in the next year. Two wonderful friends passed their clothes to me. I have more maternity clothes than regular clothes, but I haven't been pregnant since I inherited all of these clothes! See, it's just necessary...I know my reasoning has a few holes in it!



LaLa is officially a "K4er" as she says. Preschool is over. I had mixed emotions. It's one less place that we have to dash off to. It's more time that we can spend together. I can't slow down life, BUT I can reduce our running and invest more time in our family and our home. I'll share some cute pictures soon from her end of the year party and teacher gifts. I'm too lazy to download the pictures!:)



Three different people have commented on my voicemails. They all feel they are comic relief. I tend to leave long messages that include all the necessary information JUST IN CASE I don't get to talk to the actual person. My posts probably sound just like my voicemails. Oh well, at least there is a consensus that they are humorous.



I just realized that this particular post unintentionally supports my theory on ADD! Ok, enough ramblings for now, I mine as well, suck it up and get busy...you know on my "chaos" plan!

Thanks for listening!

Tammy

"Happy Mudders Day" & Thoughts About Being a Mommy

Mommy. Mama. Mother. Mamamamamama. Mom. These are the names that altered my life forever. That title of Mommy is the first time that I felt complete purpose for my life. It changed my perspectives. It changed my fears. It changed my goals. It changed my life.



Motherhood...a place that I never thought I would want to be. I assumed if I did ever become a mommy it would be a mom with a career, a nanny, a cleaning crew, and a nice, stylish wardrobe. I did not even plan on making a lot of money. I had dreams and plans of working or creating a non-profit organization to protect/support/advocate for children.



I know so many that dream and fight to have a baby of their own or through the gift of adoption. They have fought paperwork, time, money, infertility, tests, tears, miscarriages, and disappointment working toward experiencing the wonderful gift of motherhood. A gift that is easy to take for granted when you're tired and overwhelmed. My heart goes out to those that go through those trials and tribulations in their journey. There are so many sweet, innocent babies out there that need mothers. I pray and pray that they will find their way into their arms. I know a time after my miscarriage that I felt pain like no other. I felt like I lost a gift before I ever had the opportunity to treasure it.



When I became pregnant, I remember looking for a nanny to help when the baby came. I remember thinking (despite how wonderful and qualified the person was) that there was no way I wanted this individual raising my baby. You know what? I finally came to the conclusion that I was the only one that I wanted raising my baby. Then, I had to break it to my husband. I am finished with working. I will now be a stay at home mom...over night...decision made. One baby changed my mind...my life.



Time after time I feel frustration, confusion, overwhelmed, exhaustion, and just plain dumb as a mother. I heard a statement recently that explained it all. It's not that I have lost brain cells as a mommy. Rather, I just have so much more to do, think about, and worry about as a mommy. I do not have enough brain cells to go around!



However, more often than not, I feel admiration from my kids. My girls are two little people that tell me and think day after day that I am pretty as a princess....even with my glasses, ponytail, and sweatpants. I feel unconditional love when their sweet voices say "I love you, Mommy". I feel happy when my silly faces and "tickle tackles" make them giggle contagiously. I feel secure when they fall asleep beside me and reach out to snuggle in their sleepy state. I feel an overwhelmed need to protect when they cry or hurt, they run to me for comfort, a kiss, or a band-aide. I know for now...a short, very short time....I can make their hurts better.

I want to give my children so much. Most of all, I want them to be happy, healthy and strong. I want them to see God's love through my love. Yes, it is challenging at times. If I cannot show them Christ-like love, then who can I expect to show them the love of Christ.



I know that I would give anything, anything at all, for my children....my body, my time, my thoughts, my nights, my days, my life.



Yes, I would die for them...in a heartbeat...without a moment of hesitation. Could I let them die for me? Honestly, NO, I could not.



When I became a mother, I realized the sacrifice and love that God showed us when He gave us His Son to save us.



Wow...there are no further words to express that kind of sacrifice.



I love you my sweet girls. Thank you for making mother's day my favorite day of the year...the day that reminds me what a blessing being a mother truly is. LaLa and Little Bit, my mom used to tell me that you will never know a mother's love until you become one. It is so true....I will love you both....forever and always.

Love, Mommy



May all of you, Mommies or soon to be Mommies, have a very happy and special Mother’s Day.

A Mama's List of "I nevers"...

Things I thought I would never do...

• *bribe my kids (I am the one who opens things in the grocery store in order to let my kids snack so I can make it through my list.)
• *obsess about poop (the color of poop, if they are pooping too much or not enough, how to get them to poop in a potty...and so on.)
• *breastfeed in public (you do what you have to do when your baby is screaming).
• *hold a toddler/baby and still go potty myself.
• *say bye bye and pretend like I'm really leaving in order to persuade my child to actually leave or come wherever.
• *count to three...(seriously, we all know that we'll go beyond three to get our kids to give in. my kids probably think that I can't count past three).
• *talk baby talk. (it's just really cute when LaLa says "whirld" for "world" and Little Bit says "kukay" for "okay")
• *miss working.
• *love anything/anyone as much as I love my children.
• *be naked in front of people and not care...(once you're in labor, you lose all sense of modesty).
• *eat at McDonald's (I'm a picky fastfood eater).
• *love to eat gerber fruit snacks (they don't stick in your teeth.)
• *get bored as a mama (mentally).
• *get lonely as a mama (even though I rarely get to go to the bathroom or shower alone).
• *coupon (it's now an obsession).
• *not keep up to date scrapbooks for my kids.
• *let my kids watch tv...even non-educational cartoons
• *try to be "domesticated". (is that a word?)
• *be able to cook (the teachers I worked with early in my career would be impressed. i didn't know how to make kool-aid when I first got married.)
• *carry 2 kids at once.
• *change a toddler/baby's diaper on my lap. (LaLa was the first diaper I ever changed without help.)
• *clean up spit up/vomit...(still not my strong point. i have thrown a towel on it and waited for my hubby to get home before.)
• *not take a shower.
• *go (well, let's just say "a long time") without shaving my legs
• *spend all my money on my kids' clothes and not me...not at all. (i think this is a mama habit that most of us do. we become way back on our list of necessitites.)
• *compare myself to others.
• *wipe a nose with whatever I can find...and I mean whatever.
• *leave my house with something mysterious stained on my shoulder...spit up, snotty stuff, who knows?
• *question my decisions and actions.
• *be able to sing the Elmo theme song.
• *know all the Wiggle's dance moves.
• *want to "peek" in the windows everytime I drop my kid off at school (ugh...those mamas used to drive me crazy as a teacher. i get it now!:))
• *miss going to school (I'm a nerd.)

What have you done as a mama that you thought you would never do?

Where Has The Drama Gone?

Oh, don't worry! This mama's drama is still here...just slacking on the blogging scene! It's drama filled and simply wonderful! That is the unexplainable thing about being a mama...the good, the bad, and the ugly is still fantastic because it's with your family!

I am simply blogging today to share updates from our crazy world!

1. We have decided...as of this moment (you know how my brain works) to homeschool the girls next year. I have made a list (actually multiple lists) of ideas and pros and cons. I'm very intimidated and excited. As I was making my lists, the pros and cons were usually the same items! I'll share my crazy, conjured fears and anxieties on another day!

2. We are beating the colds and runny noses going around in our house. I think everyone is feeling better! Let me just say that I am so tired of runny noses! I have figured out a couple of things...Butt Paste or A&D Ointment is perfect to put on sore noses. I also discovered that Highland's products are great. They are homeopathic and have no side effects. Also, cloth diapers are great to wipe noses...my children call them snotty rags, which makes me laugh. Baby wipes are not good to wipe noses. They burn.

3. Crayons and markers should be put up and out of little hands reach. The dogs and children in my life are determined to put the markers in their mouth, write on non-paper items, and/or eat them. Yes, I buy only non toxic everything for this reason. Previously, I thought it would hamper their creativity to put such things out of their reach. Now, I may throw them out the windows...so I opted on just trying to put them out of their reach for now!

4. My husband and I have fun, exciting news that is very rare in our world. First, we are going out on a date...like a real date where you leave your house and without children...this weekend. I am leaving my children with my husband and going to a friend's house to scrapbook this weekend. My scrapbooks have been neglected for several years so I am thrilled...and I hope my house and children survive without me here! The best is still coming. You will never, ever believe it. You will be so jealous. You might hunt me down just to bop me on the head. We are going on a cruise. We are validating it by saying it's for my 30th birthday, his birthday, our Valentines day, and our anniversary present. (I'm thinking maybe he'll forget about it by my birthday and still get me something wonderful! ha-ha) My mom will be watching our girls, and we are going away. My husband is eagerly researching excursions and events on the cruise. I plan to sleep, eat, read, and write...in that order! I will even be able to go potty and shower without little heads peeking in to ask what I am doing! You can only understand the great appreciation of that if you have small children!

5. Last but not least, I have made it a goal of mine to work more consistently on writing. A friend of mine is a great writer. She writes primarily about marriage, couples, and love, which we all need guidance in! She has become a great source of information and encouragement in my quest to be a writer. I have several submissions that I will be working on over the next few months. I am hoping just one gets accepted! I think a lot of times we never try things because we just don't want to fail. However, if we don't try, we will never know! I'm trying to throw out the excuses and FOCUS (oooh...there's my word for 2010 again!). Feel free to keep me accountable! Just drive me crazy until I can finally say that I have done it!

Now, after all of those updates and ramblings, you can probably understand why our mama drama is in high intensity! Since I did not leave you with much inspiration, I will share this link. Click on the different links on the bottom of the post. Be prepared to waste lots of time, make lists of projects you want to try, and be inspired! Good luck!

I'm so FULL of THANKS!

My kids drive me crazy at times. I am often so sleepy because one of my kids will wake up in the middle of the night or really, really early. I have this annoying habit of not being able to turn my brain off at night when I get started on a project...which also leads to a really tired mama. I lose my patience at times. My house gets messy. I often start ten projects all at once. I choose an extra fifteen minutes of sleep over a shower at times. I fall asleep before I finish my prayers sometimes. I forget to tell my kids, husband, family, and friends how wonderful they are to me at times. I am not a good phone person. I get completely distracted after talking for five minutes. I only check phone messages every week...or so (which tends to drive my family and friends crazy). I'm not very good in emergencies. I often wonder if I am making the right decisions from the small things as feeding my kids organic or not organic to big things like should I go back to work or continue to stay home. A lot of the times...there is no right or wrong answer. I completely stress over any confrontation or decision making.

Regardless of all of the different things where I know I fall short...

I look at these two precious girls...I mean really stop in the moment and look at my kids...and know that there is something that is absolutely wonderful in my world—my own piece of heaven from God, Himself. I may not be everything I want to be or do everything I should do, but I know that I am so blessed to be given the opportunity to be their mama.

My heart is so full of thanks...to God...for these two girls.

This Thanksgiving, when I am trying to cook and maneuver all the food and preparations for our families, I will try my hardest to step back from the chaos and the expectations...and be in the moment with a heart full of thanks to God. I know I fall short. I know I do not deserve this position, but I am blessed to be given the opportunity....to be called MAMA by LaLa and Little Bit.

Mama Drama Rule #77: Take a moment to realize just what an incredible honor it is to be called...mama.

Coupons, coupons, coupons

I've been a little obsessed lately with blogs, articles, and friends that are using and saving using coupons. They are spending a fortune at the grocery store and coming out actually spending a few dollars. I get so frustrated every week after I finish my grocery shopping at how much money I spend, and I plan our menus according to what is on sale! I have decided this is definitely an area that I can save us money...resulting in more money for cute things for my girls and fun stuff to do!

I guess I have been talking quite a lot about this without realizing it! I picked LaLa up from preschool today and told her that we had to run by the store because we were making her soccer coach a special gift from the team for the soccer celebration Friday. She said, "oh, mama, i will probably need a toy too, but I forgot my coupon at home!" I couldn't help but laugh...and totally got suckered into letting her get a toy at the dollar store...without the non-existing coupon!

A new friend is helping me with my coupon obsession, and I am going to take a class soon! Coupon classes, who knew?! I'm so overwhelmed by the entire concept, but I'm determined and inspired so I'll keep you posted! I heard today how to get free bacon from Publix. We'll see if it works! One website that the friend told me about is http://www.hotcouponworld.com/. It's a little intimidating so you may need to do like I am and spend some time exploring when the little ones are in bed! Good Luck!

This is just part of the latest of this mama's drama! My hubby and I are also leaving our two sweet girls for four days with my parents while my hubby is in a triathlon in Florida! It's one of the first times we have left them both, and I am a nervous, nervous mama! I'll keep you posted...I know, I know, we mamas are desperate for a break and dream of a vacation...and then we get crazy nervous when we actually get one!

Mama Drama Rule #20- Always save money in areas that you can. A little effort to save money is totally worth it because money saved in one area is more money that can be spent by mama in another area!

Project- I finished the little "sizzles" soccer team's bags for the end of season gifts! I'll try to post them tomorrow before we leave for the beach!

The Rules of Mama Drama

I am completely new to blogging and to this entire idea! I'm not sure how or where to start! I have gotten completely hooked on several blogs so I thought I would give it a try! I know that I will read through blogs and not feel quite so crazy about all my mama drama when I hear other people going through the same craziness! At the end of the day, the only thing you can do is look back, laugh, and reflect. When you have children, everything changes--your body, your mind, your marriage, your friends, your life, and a whole lot in between! I was one of those that thought I knew...everything! Well, I have learned quite a lot! I knew....nothing! After teaching dozens of kids for five years and getting a doctorate in education, I still stand clueless when my child is laying on the floor pitching the biggest "hissyfit" in the middle of the grocery store. BC (before children) when I saw a child having a "throwdown" fit and causing a raucous, I secretly glanced over analyzing what those parents were doing wrong. Now, AC (After children), I try not to make eye contact and say a silent prayer that it's not mine doing it....this time!

I "steal" crafty ideas and inspiration from blogs regularly so I thought I'd start contributing too! I have hopes of one day selling some of my "crafty" things on the side. I just got an embroidery machine in May, and I am experimenting with....um...anything and everything that I can embroidery in my house and put on my girls! I'll keep you posted! I have two beautiful little girls. "LaLa" is my oldest. She is 3 going on 13. My youngest, "Little Bit," just turned one. So, here's my opportunity to share with family, friends, and soon to be friends my journey of "mama" hood and all the drama that brings along!

Mama Drama Rule #1: There is nothing like being a mama to make you feel like you don't know anything at all. The best thing to do is to accept you will learn more through your children than any book or expert can ever offer, and enjoy every minute. Being a mama is being a lifetime learner!