Travel Adventures

Well last night I had to go pick my husband up from work. This time was a little different as I did not have to go to the airport. His vessel is docked about an hour & a half from our home so I had to drive over there and pick him up. At 7 at night. Needless to say the docks are not the safest place to be at night alone as a woman. So my dad volunteered to go with me. Thank God.

I had an address so we popped it into the GPS & took off. We get there & its deserted. To get there we drove through what I like to call ghettoville. I am not exaggerating. Most houses had boards instead of glass where there windows would be. And there were lots of people gathered on street corners. We get to the dock & its crackville. There is no guard in what is left of the guard shack. The 2 buildings we parked between had been abandon for years. After much trial & error we finally found him. So we get in the truck & get about 3 miles down the road when he realizes he has forgotten his wallet. (*sigh) So we turn around & head back to crackville. This time my husband take my father & I on a tour of the boat & to meet some of his coworkers.
They were all really nice.

So we finally make it home safe & sound. Now....what am I going to do next month if I have to go back?

Playdates & Mommy Groups

Can I make a confession? I love my mommy friends. I am so glad I found them. I honestly wish I had found a group or groups like I am involved with now when my oldest was younger. When she was little I was pretty much alone. None of my friends or family was pregnant so there was really nobody there to talk to or gripe to or ask questions. I figured a lot out from books and trial & error. I guess that's why I want to give advice to everyone. I was so alone & mad so many mistakes that I really don't want anyone else to make the same mistakes so I try to help but sometimes come off bossy. (Sorry...I don't mean to.)

Anyway I want to tell you about my mommy groups. The first one I joined was MOMS Club. Its Moms Offering Moms Support. Its really nice & there is a large group of us. There are activities planned each month & there is a Person of Contact at each outing. Once a month there is a meeting with a planned discussion topic.

Second there is MOPS. Which is Mothers Of Preschoolers. It meets once a month & is a Christian faith based organization. There are many different types of groups. Ours meets once a month while a friends meets bi-weekly. I enjoy that one too but it is limited for women with children under 5.

The third group I am in I found on Meetup.com. It is a great group of women. We come from all different background & have all kinds of parenting styles but when we come together its just about having fun. Each meetup group is different. Mine meets a few times a week at various locations. Sometimes its at the park or my favorite at a fellow moms house. Or if the weather is to bad we may all just go to McDonald's. The kids burn off some energy while the moms get some adult conversations. Its a great group of women.

So...I have met a lot of wonderful women & I strongly urge anyone at home with a small child who may be going a little nuts to check out some local groups like these. It may save your sanity.

Lady Gaga sings

Took my little one to the park today. It was such great weather. We first had a picnic with 3 of her little friends & then walked across to the playground to let them burn off some energy. I love being around little kids because they do & say the funniest & sweetest things. I saw one little boy help another up & brush him off, the same little boy held my daughters hand, & my daughter gave him a hand climbing up the steps. I also love the things that come out of their mouths. One little boy came straight from preschool. He told us his number was one five (15 to you non moms..lol) and his letter was K. I asked him if they had animal Kyle Kangaroo to which he replied "No." So I asked if it was Kevin Kangaroo & he said no again. So I asked what was the animals name. He told me to guess & when I replied I'm out of guesses he said "Well, I'm not going to tell you because you won't guess." LOVE that logic. And one little boy told some random woman "Lady Gaga sings." That was to funny.
Guess its time for stranger danger awareness.

Manners

I was reading Dear Abby this morning & it got me aggravated. A reader had written in about opening a door for a woman & how the woman had bit his head off for doing so. There was a lot of responses back on both sides of the coin. I didn't write in but here's my viewpoint.
I am not offended when a guy opens a door for me. Nor am I offended when he waits for me to sit down before he sits down. It tells me his momma raised him right. Now...my husband usually opens the door for me especially if my arms are full but on the same token when he is carrying our daughter or has his arms full while mine are empty I open the door for him. Its called common courtesy not chauvinism. I open doors for people all the time. Little old ladies & gentlemen at the post office. Someone with their hands full trying to get it open. Maybe its because I was raised in the south maybe its because I watched Gone with the Wind to many times. I don't know....I just think its common courtesy not a way to make someone feel inferior to another.
Now, on the other hand....when I first got married I kind of expected my husband to do the things my father does for my mother. He finds a close parking spot so she doesn't have to walk far, if its raining he gets the car then comes & picks her up curbside, things like that. My husband not so much. Maybe it was because his mother is Asian & was raised to defer to a man, maybe its because he was in the Army where women were treated & expected to be equals. I am not sure. He doesn't do any of those things. But that's OK. Its made me become more independent. Which is great for our lifestyle now. He's gone half of the year. I had to learn how to be independent.
I also think we need to keep teaching our kids manners. My children learn please & thank you and they are also required to use ma'am & sir. If you are an adult my children are also required to call you Mr. or Miss before your first name. My friend is Miss Dana to my kids. Its a form of respect. All this..."children can call adults by their first name so as to not make the child feel inferior to the adult" is rubbish. Children are inferior in a way. I am the adult & I am the responsible one. My children call family members Aunt so & so or Uncle such & such. We've even gone so far as they call their adult cousins Aunt & Uncle. No it does not warp the kid. My Uncle Don is my cousin but I call him Uncle as a form of respect. He is almost 30 years my senior that's just how it works. His kids are called Aunt by my kids....same reason. Adults often ask how we are related & we explain the we are cousins.
I guess my point is manners don't cost anything but the benefits are immeasurable.

Back in the groove

I need to get into a regular routine for doing this. I enjoy it but it just seems that everything else manages to take its place. I saw a church sign that said something to the effect that we make time for what we want to be our priorities. I thought that was interesting & I never really put much thought into. Church attendance is what they were mainly talking about & I understand....there are all kinds of excuses not to go to church & I admit I've used some of them from time to time. But for me I thought of my blog. I really need to get on the ball. While I would like for this to be a daily blog its just not going to happen. So my goal is at least weekly & then I'd like to get into a M-F kind of thing. Maybe even a schedule like some of my fave blogs I've seen.

So here at 10pm is my works for me Wednesday tip.

I am always remembering things to do while in the shower. Maybe its the water or washing hair stimulates brain cells but that's when I have clarity. So....I put a dry erase marker next to the tub. My surround is tile but it should work w/ fiberglass. May not want to try this if you have marble. I write down things to remember then after I get dressed I transfer them to my to do list & wipe it off. Also nice to write down that you need razor blades or shampoo from the store. Anyway....it works for me hope it works for you.

How come

How come when you get a simple to assemble toy organizer the instructions are in picture form only? How come they give you extra pieces that leaves you worried till you look at the pictures again? How come the phone rings off the hook while you are trying to accomplish this because your husband is out of town? How come your 2 year old and 4 year old niece both have to poop while this project is going on? (Can someone come wipe my butt?) How come it doesn't say on the box that unless you are a master carpenter then you need an extra pair of hands to help. And how come when you mutter the word crap the 4 year old who never listens to anything you say all of a sudden has a complete hearing miracle and starts repeating the word constantly?

If you can answer any of these questions let me know how come.


Thanks

May Blessings

So its been super busy around here. First on May 6th my DH went back to Panama for another month, then just 2 days later my baby turned 2. I was looking at her the other day and realized she's not a baby anymore...shes a small child. Where did the time go? She's developing a personality and so much more.

She is also progressing nicely on the potty training. I know you are interested...lol...but I have to brag as it was so hard with my oldest child. B is so much easier. C did not finally get it till she was 3 1/2 but B...well lets just say God smiled on me with this child.

The rest of the time I have just been caught up in the day to day stuff. We celebrated Mother's Day at my parents with some Popeye's chicken (drool) and one of those big water slides for the 4 grand kids. A good time was had by all & the children went home dead tired which meant a quiet night for me. (Ah...what I really wanted)

How has your May been so far? I hope its been truly blessed.