A Mom's Life

When Andy and I were first dating, I had a dream about a house. It was an old, Victorian house and I lived there. It was like any other old house except that it had no foundation. My big, two-story home sat precariously on a dock in the water. For some reason the house, and the dream, haunted me and I asked people what they thought such a dream could mean. I clearly remember one particular conversation with someone, who at the time, was a relatively new friend. She seemed to think the floating house symbolized my relationship with Andy. There was something big in my life, but I wasn't sure how it would hold up. The house was my future and it had no foundation yet. Where was our relationship going? Was it going to sink or swim? We have no idea of knowing what the future holds, especially when it comes to love. Remember, a few weeks ago, I wrote about the common idea that children should be seen and not heard? Well I feel it holds true for couples as well. Most of us abide by the...

It's true folks. The time has come for me to slap on a pair of pantyhose, a pair of heels and my flashiest smile and head back to the office. It sounds so cliche to say that time flies when you are having fun but it's just so true. It's amazing how long the days can be when we aren't doing what we truly want and how quickly the minutes pass when we are too busy to care what time it is. Each minute of the last fourteen weeks has been just this way for me. When many people hardly have the opportunity to take more than five days away from work, I was fortunate enough to spend three whole months away from the daily grind. I openly admit that I spent little time focusing on my life as a 9-5 professional and instead whole heartedly dedicated myself to being a 24/7 mommy. Here's a taste of the things I did during my whirlwind summer with my girls. Becoming a night owl again; Learning, after a few weeks, that I didn't need to change Charlotte's diaper every 2 hour...

What can you do in seventeen minutes? Watch an episode of your favorite sitcom without commercials? Run two miles at a good clip? Eat a meal, or in Andy's case, microwave a meal and then eat it? Have a baby? Because that's what I did. You heard me right. I birthed a baby in seventeen minutes because I am a machine. I am a machine ! I am a baby birthing woman of steel. I am not much of a bragger and you may recall that I was never good and never bad at anything. I have no particular achievements to tout, academically, physically, professionally or otherwise except baby birthing. I'm really good at this and I'm pretty darn proud of it and I'd like to brag about it to you now. This is Charlotte's birth story. For the first four or five months of my pregnancy with Charlotte, most people forgot that I was even pregnant. This does happen to you with multiple pregnancies. I never forgot that I was pregnant. Morning sickness heart burn and frequent bathroom t...

For an essay I'm submitting that asks, "What's your favorite quiet moment?" Being in a house with two kids under four years old, it is hard to imagine a moment of quiet. We've been operating on a 24 hour schedule since the baby's birth 11 weeks ago, and one can find us doing something at any time of the day or night. I wouldn't say we are quiet people by nature. Both my husband, Andy, and I enjoy talking to one another, talking on the phone, listening to music and watching TV, sometimes all at the same time. We have a very noisy family and I find it incredibly comforting. My almost-four-year-old daughter has become increasingly chatty and finds repetition amusing. We start the morning and end the day with a series of repeated questions. "Mommy, what's your name? Mommy, what's Daddy's name. Can I have some juice? What are we doing today? Mommy, what's your name? Mommy, what's Daddy's name? Can I have some juice? What are w...

We can all agree that I'm not shy. Some of you may think that I'm confident but that's not entirely true. I think it is safe to say that I'm comfortable with who I am and this includes being naked. I'm that lady in the locker room who gets totally undressed in front of you and may use the open shower even when the private stalls are free. I am only sporting a bra and underpants in many of my college dorm room photos. My friend from those days introduced herself to Andy by saying, "I've probably seen your wife naked more times than you have." It's not even like I have a "smokin' bod" or anything. I grew up in a house where nudity was accepted as part of life. I insisted on taking baths with my mom until I could no longer squeeze in with her. I could openly talk with her about my body and she never made me feel that I had any reason to feel ashamed to be me. Yes, it is true that one time I did see her, after she'd taken a bath aft...

When I was a kid I often heard the phrase, "children should be seen and not heard." Society acknowledges those with children and then bluntly asks moms and dads to keep the kiddies inside, and away from the rest of society, until they are 18, or better yet, college graduates. Other than school or dance class, I don't remember going out in public all too often with my family. Big trips out included heading to church and the grocery store with mom and the laundry mat with my grandma. We would go to Burger King or Abdow's Big Boy as a special treat before heading back to the hills for many more weeks. I don't blame the adults in my life for keeping me at home. I vomited my Junior Whopper onto the chip aisle at the grocery store, cried for a toy EVERY time we were at the check out counter and hid under the clothing racks giggling as my mom frantically called my name. These outings were exhausting for me and the adults shuttling me with them during their w...

I tell it like I see it. It is a trait I inherited from my mother. When I was an insecure pre-teen with Sally Jesse Rafael glasses and a retainer, I asked my mom the question every little girl asks her parents. "Mommy, am I pretty?" I don't quite remember the setting for the question but I'll paint a picture for you. Moe was probably in the bath tub. She'd have the curtain closed to keep the heat in and I'd be talking to her from the other side, as though I was at confession. I'm sure she had her eyes closed. She probably took a long draw from her cigarette before giving me her blunt and honest opinion. "Well, " she said, "you're not ugly." There you have it, my mom, always making sure I didn't become too vain. She purposely never called me Princess or Baby or any other prissy term of endearment. My nicknames were directly related to my name and my position in the family. I was either Missy or Sis. As a kid this always made me m...