Thursday, April 9, 2009

The New Face of Peas & Carrots and a Tribute to Mommyhood!

So, I wanted to transform my blog to personalize it a little and make it feel more like “home” to me. After a quick Google search, I found Jen from Trendy Mommy Blogs, who creates the cutest custom blog templates at a very reasonable price! If you feel like jazzing yours up, take a quick looky loo at her website: http://www.thetrendymommy.blogspot.com/

Somehow, in this crazy whirlwind of a week I managed to watch my tivoed Oprah from Monday and was soooooooo pleasantly surprised! Did anyone catch this Oprah show? If you are a mommy and are like me and tivo all of them….go find this one in your archives and watch it! The entire show was on motherhood as she attempts to shed some light on how difficult being a mother in this day and age can be. It’s like we’re supposed to be superwoman and supermommy all wrapped up in a perfectly put together, glamorous and witty package…complete with cute little charming children, looking always to die for and an immaculate home with fabulous decor. Well, only another mother will understand the frazzled look of an overworked, under appreciated mommy…and that being a parent is not all cuddles, snuggles and cute sleepy babies. Oprah must have gotten a ton of requests from honest mommies who want to tell it like it is because Monday’s show was all about the trials and tribulations of motherhood…and that simply, it’s not always pretty.

While I was watching this show, I started thinking about my own blog and how ironically I’ve only really been focusing my updates on the adorable things that my little girls do. And don’t get me wrong, our days are filled with heartfelt moments and lots of giggles, but they are equally filled with the difficult realities that define parenthood. Especially parenthood with two kids under 3 in the house!! So along with the facelift that my blog is getting, I’m also going to switch the content gears a little. I’ll definitely still write about all of the endearing moments…but I’m going to also include the moments that humble us…the ones that make us real.

I thought I’d kick this off with a list of mommy confessions…25 things that no, do not make me the perfect mother, but things that make me a real mother…the mommy that I just am. So here we go…

25 Mommy Confessions:

1. I let my kids eat off the floor…it doesn’t bother me, I don’t worry about it.
2. When my babies were newborns, there were times that I didn’t like them very much.
3. I have definitely wondered “what did we do?” by becoming parents.
4. I daydream about what life was like before kids…single, fun and carefree.
5. I let Anna listen to whatever comes on the radio or whatever I feel like playing off my ipod. I’m not really worried about the content. So, um, yeah, she knows Lady Gaga & Beyonce pretty well.
6. If we’re out of Anna’s diapers, I have no qualms about using Josies on her…even though they don’t fit and are way too small
7. The first day I dropped Anna off at daycare (she was 3 months old), I was actually happy about it. I barely worried or looked back until the day was over! Just a note about this---I had literally held her for 3 months straight up until this point---barely even taking the time each day to take a shower.
8. I was going to take away the pacifier from Josie at a year, but it’s become my clutch to soothing her…she may have to take it away from me at some point!!... which I can assure you will not be at a year.
9. I secretly don’t mind that Anna is not potty trained…I dread the day when I have to deal with her and public potties.
10. My kids have chicken nuggets for dinner probably 3 days a week…hey, they’re getting their protein!
11. I extremely dislike being pregnant…the only good thing that comes from it are my beautiful children. But, somehow, I manage to get all the pregnancy woes…and I’ll spare you the details!!
12. I do not keep Anna’s artwork from school…I hate clutter so I keep a piece now in then, but most of it goes straight into the trash.
13. I guess I’m old fashioned, but I have no problem saying “no” to my kids…I don’t really believe in redirection and feel that my kids need clear boundaries.
14. The other day Anna threw her fork on the kitchen floor…Bailey (the dog) came up and licked it, and yes, I gave it back to her.
15. I still spend a lot of money on myself…even though I could be putting away even more money for their college tuition.
16. I hate changing poopy diapers and love to pass them off to my poor hubby every chance I get.
17. When I talk to my girlfriends I enjoy not talking about my kids…I want to hear and chat about all the other things going on in the world and in their lives.
18. I believe that our most important role in life is being a mother, HOWEVER, we are still so much more…we are friends, sisters, daughters, wives, career women and most importantly individuals with interests outside of our families. Embrace those things!!..wait, was that really a confession???
19. I bribe Anna with candy and toys…it works like a charm.
20. We turned Anna’s car seat around at a year, even though she still wasn’t 20 pounds…I just couldn’t take the fussing anymore.
21. After a long holiday or vacation, I look forward to sending my kids back to daycare.

22. I am not particularly fond of the newborn stage…they are needy and high maintenance and exhausting.
23. If I had the money, I’d have a night nurse during the newborn phase, a full time house keeper, personal in home chef, physical trainer and assistant for paying all my bills, running errands, etc!! ha..if you haven’t read it yet, you MUST read “I’ll Never Nanny in This Town Again”. It’s fabulous!
24. On long car rides, I prefer being the driver. That way I don’t have to deal with all the nagging demands coming from the back seat!!
25. BUT, I didn’t know I could love someone with such intensity until I had my children.

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4 comments:

Kimmy said...

I absolutely loves these!!!!! I can relate to most of them. Here are a few of mine....

1. I too....daydream of the day of when I did not have children. When Ellie and Cole go with their dad one of my favorite things to do is sit in silence.
2. I allow Ellie and Cole to watch the Simpsons even though they really shouldn't. Its the only cartoon on in the evening since we don't have cable.
3.My kids have chicken nuggets for dinner more then 3 times a week, not to mention fish sticks, corn dogs and cereal.
4. I too....bribe Ellie and Cole with candy, toys and other sweets. 9/10 it works. Ellie is starting to not care!
5. I look forward to Ellie and Cole going with their dad. I usually don't start to miss them until the morning they are coming home.
6. I too....do not keep everything that Ellie makes at school. I have to throw it away when she is not looking!
7. I sometimes will tell Ellie and Cole that something is closed when I don't want to have to go there. Its not working as well as it used to.
8. Ellie had her pacifier until she was 3. It kept me sane so I feel for ya there!
9. Sometimes when Ellie will whine at me I whine back. Not working!
10. I really enjoyed the newborn stage. There have been a couple times in the past few months that I had to lock Ellie and Cole out of my room.

Its late so I will stop there but I most agree with #25 and I would not change them at all!

Love the new page!!

Much love!!

Alison Hunt said...

Kara ~
Such a great post! It is refreshing to hear the other side of life as a mom!

Your girls are precious though!

Hope you are well,
Alison Hunt (Nikki's friend)

Dawn said...

Oh My Goodness!!! You crack me up!!!!!!! I haven't had much time to check out the blogs I would like to very much, but this post is HILarious!!!!! But OH SO TRUE!!!!! Sure hope we get to see you all and the girls sometime soon.... I know they would have so much fun playing together. If I ever get my ankle healed I would love to take a road trip with the girls and visit you all... someday...
Hugs and kisses,
Dawn

Unknown said...

Kara - I was checking out Marcy's blog for new Lyla pics and then started reading yours and felt compelled to THANK YOU so much for this list. I'm not kidding you just last night I watched Landon (20 mo) eat 4-5 crackers off the floor (he dumped them and was "picking them up" and thought - well at least it's just crackers and not fruit or something stickier without even thinking for a second - HE's EATING OFF THE FLOOR. Not to mention I also hate being pregnant and am not really into newborn babies.

Reading this is totally what I needed this morning since I was also having a conflicted morning about leaving my beautiful kids and saying "i'll try to pick you up early from school today". Anyway- great to see your kids growing and everyone doing so well. We might be investigating the burbs soon, so we'll keep you posted. Maybe we'll be neighbors!

Emily Beerhalter