Momfiles news

Hello friends! I wanted to share with all of you my great news. I am expecting!! I am 8 weeks only and thankfully not sick or tired. My hubby is behaving so nicely (shocking). He has been catering to me and has just been extra nice unlike his normal annoying self. You mean all I had to do was get knocked up for him to act right? For those of you that are regular visitors of Days Like These, there was a post made on a certain friend that is expecting. Okay, the cat is out of the bag, it was ME!!! I had to process everything before I could say anything about it. I was going ballistic at first thinking "I have not had a baby in 11 years, what am I thinking?" Then reality set in and now I am so excited I can barely stand myself! I am not due til early April and will keep everyone posted. The number one question I have been getting is "I bet you hope it is a boy" Both the hubby and myself have no preference and will be pleased either way. We just pray for a healthy baby (just no twins please!) I certainly appreciate all your prayers as we take this crazy journey into parenthood all over again.

Laugh at yourself

Last night I was in Target with my two daughters shopping for some health and beauty products. We got all we needed from the list except one last item, body lotion for daddy. We get on the right aisle and started to look at our choices. It is very important to get the right product when shopping for my husband because he does not like "girlie" lotion. He likes feeling like a manly man so it takes a couple extra minutes to find just the right product. I was torn between two brands so I had to do what the girls in my family do... the sniff test. There was a new version of Vaseline Intensive Care with Cocoa Butter. Now my husband likes that kind of stuff. I reached to the top of the shelf and grabbed one (the price was really good). I flipped the cap open and took a whiff. I could not tell what it smelled like so I gave the bottle a little squeeze. All of a sudden the lotion squirted out all over my face and up my nose! My girls started to laugh uncontrollably and so did I!!!! I laughed til there were tears in my eyes and my stomach was sore. Now think about how awful that looked! The girls kept telling me where to wipe it off and every time I thought it was gone, they would see more. Needless to say, I will know what the lotion smells like for at least a week! I am so glad that I know how to laugh at myself. Looks like my girls will be talking about this one for a couple weeks. Now if the hubby was with me when it happened, he would talk about it for years to come~! Oh, I did end up buying it!

Kids are like bottomless pits!!

School has been officially out for a little over a week now and I am finding myself in the grocery store about 4 times per week! How is it when school is in session my kids eat a good breakfast at home, lunch at school (sometimes cafeteria food or a home lunch), a snack after school, dinner, and then one last snack before bedtime. Now the kids wake up, eat breakfast, then a snack, another snack, lunch, snack again, one more snack, dinner, snack, snack, snack.....HELP!!! They are costing me way more with them being home. They are VERY active and are limited to a minimum amount of TV time so weight or health problems are not an issue. They are always doing something so there is little time for boredom. I may have to take on a part time job to feed them! What is so bad is I am finding myself munching more. The worse part of all is that all the "healthy" foods are so expensive so I am purchasing things that are less costly so that I can maintain some kind of budget. Does anyone have any good ideas for some low cost snacks that are still somewhat healthy?

Glamour gone WILD~!

I was recently channel flipping on cable tv and just when I thought television was complete crap these days, I was proven right. There is this show on VH1 called Little Beauties: Ultimate Kiddie Queen Showdown. I did not watch the whole thing cause it was plain ridiculous. What are these parents thinking by putting little 6 year old girls through hell by dressing them in 2 thousand dollar gowns, caking their baby-soft skin with clown make-up, and making the bee-hive style make a comeback?!!! All for money! Even the little girls were saying that they hope to win money. They are being aged before their time because of greed. Sorry folks, good looks do not last forever! Poor little girls.

Stay-at-home moms may become extinct!

I was watching the evening news last night and the anchor was talking about (what other than) the sticker shock we are facing for gas and groceries. We all are seeing how expensive it is to fill up our vehicles and it seems to burn faster than ever! Then they talked about corn. I guess I never realized just how much corn is so much a part of virtually everything we eat and drink with the exception of fresh fruit and vegetables. Corn is used in the form of corn syrup as a sweetener... corn is fed to the chickens that lay eggs than we cook and bake with...corn is fed to the cows that produce the milk we pay 4 bucks a gallon for... many products contain corn (snacks, cereal, etc...) and then there is ethanol . It is said that gas will most likely go up to $4 a gallon this Summer. Looks like no relief anytime soon. I know that I continue to shop according to sales and combining coupons to help cut back. I even shop 2-3 grocery stores (all located next to each other) to stretch my dollars. I know it is hard for working people to do that. Speaking of which, if these costs stay this way for years to come, does this mean the stay-at-home mom will have to go find a job outside of the home to help support their family? What do you think?

Parent vs Non-Parent

Isn't it funny when your friends or family (that are not parents) often think you are too hard on your children? I often go through it with the 'non-parent'. I assure them that their views will change when they have their own children and I usually get "No, I will never be as mean a mom as you are!". I specifically remember about 10 years ago, one of my dearest friends (non-parent at that time) saw my older child fall and I did not run to console her. My friend started the whole "Aww, poor baby!". I would tell her that I do not pity the child unless she is bleeding or dying (you know what I mean). She thought I was the most horrible person in the whole world. Well, she had her first child 3 years ago and guess what? I go to her house and watch the child bump into the wall or fall on the floor and what do you think she does? She says, "shhh, don't pay any attention to her". How funny!! The same person that was ready to grab my child in her arms and baby her now won't do that for her own child! It is amazing that your mind changes so much when you become a parent.

Embarassing your kids-The Right of Parents

This morning my younger daughter went on a school field study to Charleston, SC to the Cooper River Bridge and The Citadel. Since she was going a whole two hours away from home and would be gone all day, my husband and I thought we would be the good parents (since neither of us could attend) to take her to the pick up site to see her off. Her dad gets a little crazy with the camera and takes video clips as well as photos of all the kids and their families. As you can see on the photo to the left, she was making the mad dash to dodge her dad, the camera man!

After dropping the first child off we then took our middle school aged daughter to school. Her dad decides to jump out of the driver's seat (in the crowded carpool line) and pose for a photo. My poor child was so embarrassed since everyone was staring. It was pretty funny I have to admit. It is sort of cute now that I look at the photo- the children were asked to wear burgundy or orange to show remembrance for those that passed away in the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech. Look at that, dad and daughter wearing those very colors. SO sweet! I always said I would never embarrass my own children when I was a kid but it's just too much fun!!

Don't call me "Baby"!

I was strolling through the grocery store the other day with my daughters doing a little shopping for snacks for the week. We were having to dodge other carts because the store was very crowded (Spring Break week). We see one of the store managers and decide to say hello like we always do. He was having a conversation with a couple other men and pauses to speak to me. I was thinking he would say "Hello, I hope you found everything you needed" or "have a nice day". Instead he says "Hey Baby, how ya doing?" I was annoyed. I just do not understand why men think it is okay to call a woman baby, baby girl, sweetheart, etc... Maybe I am overreacting but I think it is rude to assume a woman that you have no romantic or personal relationship with likes to be called such names. I am sure he meant no harm but this seems to happen everywhere I go. You should see my girl's faces!! I could just hear the "oooohhh! I'm telling daddy!!!"

Sleepovers

I got a phone call this afternoon from the mother one of my older daughter's (Chardonnay) friends. She was calling to find out if Chardonnay got an invitation to one of the girls' mutual friends birthday party/ sleepover. I knew nothing about it and I figured out why. I do not let my children sleepover at any one's house except grandma, grandpa, or their life-long pal since they were 3 & 5. My child knows that if she asked to go to the party I would firmly say "NO". Do I feel bad about saying no? Absolutely not! I know that most people would say to loosen up and trust my daughter. Believe me, I trust her plenty but we do live in a very different time. I grew up in a strict household and I never slept over at any one's home, even family members. I guess culture has a lot to do with the way we handle things. Needless to say, I do not think Chardonnay's friend will be allowed to go to the party either. I think life will go on even though may think it won't!