Crabby Mama

Here is one that really does require deep thought. I probably won’t have as many responses because of it, but that’s okay too.

What one event/decision (if you HAD to choose) do you think most influenced where you are in your life today? How has it affected you? Here is my story:

I was born in Louisiana. My parents divorced when I was 2. My mom remarried when I was 4. I saw my dad every other weekend for many years. Once I hit 4th grade, I moved around a lot with my mom, step-dad, and sisters. I did not get to see my dad as often.

Once I hit the pre-teen years, my home life deteriorated fast. It was more than just a teenager’s angst. There was not a lot of harmony in my daily life. I spent a lot of time in fear (not physically) of going home.

When I was 15, we were living in Tennessee. I had a great group of friends and all I could ask for as far as drama in my social life. I was as happy as I could be under the circumstances. My step-dad decided it would be best for our family to move to FL.

To say I hated him and was miserable was an understatement. Not only did I lose my friends at 15, I also hated being at home. It was the worst summer of my life. So when my dad asked me to come visit for a month, I jumped at the chance.

It was such a different life with my dad. Of course, I was his little baby and he did not see me often, so I was a bit spoiled. BUT. There was so much harmony in his house. No one lived in fear to come home. I was so at peace there. If I was going to start over, I might as well do it with my dad where I was comfortable instead of in FL where there was non-stop tension. So I called my mom and told her I was moving to Louisiana with my dad.

And she lost it. My mom was devastated. She begged me to come home and talk about it, but I was firm. No need to come home, I was set. So my mom threw in that if I came home to talk, we could go up to TN to visit my friends. Well, that was the deal-breaker. I was so desperate to see my friends, I would have done almost anything to go back there. So I flew home with the understanding that I was going back to my dad’s in something like 2 weeks. I didn’t.

I remained in FL for the rest of high school and college. I met my husband in college and made some friends there that we were so close to, we moved to NC with them. I believe my life today is the way it is in a large part due to the fact that I decided not to move to Louisiana.

I know I have probably made a lot of decisions in my life that have led me to this point. But I truly believe in my heart that my entire being would be different had I moved to LA.

So there you have it. Anyone out there have anything to share?

here’s one for ya. How many kids did you/do you want to have (if any)? And why? And if you’ve had one or more already, has the total number you want to have changed? Why?

I have always wanted 4 kids. There were 3 of us growing up and I think odd numbers are tough. Someone is always left out either because of gender or the other two are closer (usually in age). It took Mike a bit to warm up to that idea, but by the time we were talking about actually having them, I noticed he was saying 4 also. Just after we had Leah, Mike said he wasn’t sure he wanted anymore. Newborns are tough, as most of you know. By the time Leah was 18 months and grown out for the baby stage, Mike was ready for another.

Neither of us are saying 4 for sure anymore. We have decided to reevaluate after each child and see how we feel. It probably does make a difference that we have 2 girls and no boys. We would be more likely to stop now if we had one of each (not definitely, but more likely). We feel like we need to try for at least one boy. Also, just like Leah, as Erin gets older it becomes easier to say that we might want another one. I just don’t know if we are going all the way to 4 still. i like the IDEA of it, just not sure about the details.

Funny story, I took my girls and Ian and Chase to Chick-fil-a by myself for dinner last night (I was babysitting). I decided that it’s not having 4 kids that is tough, it is more than one baby. I do not want multiples. As long as I stair-step the kids’ ages, I should be okay.

I really love this Q & A series. I have gotten so many ideas on how to make my life more enjoyable along with some practical advice. I have not decided about the boot camp yet, but I will take Chelsi’s advice on the one night a week yoga. I looked at my schedule and my night will be Mondays. Mike wakeboards every Thursday, weather permitting, and I do dinner and bed for the girls by myself. He can take a night to do it by himself too.

You guys are the best! I am enjoying this. Look for a new Q & A tomorrow!

How do those of you with kids find the time to work out? I am struggling with the idea of hauling 2 kids everywhere. It is such a huge amount of work to get two kids ready for the gym daycare (everyone need a snack and drink). I really like doing yoga and would do videos at home (which is not as fun as a class with other participants, but still), but I can’t get enough quiet time in my day. I make Leah have rest time in her room everyday for 45 minutes. I can’t squeeze another minute out of that. Trust me I have tried. But once I leave her, I usually have one or two things to do before I can do yoga. Quieting my mind at that point is hard and then I don’t have the time to do a whole series.

I am considering registering for the Charlotte Adventure Boot Camp for the 5:30am session 3 days a week. I have never been a morning person, but Mike will still be here and I won’t have to even think about the kids. i just want to see results!

Here’s my newest deep thought. I wanna know what everyone out there is eating for breakfast. I am so bored of cereal and oatmeal. Any other good ideas?

Lately when I have been doing something lately, whether it is with the kids or by myself, I find myself thinking about the other women I know and how they would be doing the same thing.

For example, I have been able to scrapbook off and on lately. So I wonder how you ladies, if and when you get free time, like to spend it.

Another example is that we are deciding about dental insurance for Leah. And I wonder what you guys with kids think about dental insurance for kids and when you will/have taken your kids to the dentist.

So this is my first post in a series I will call Q & A. You can answer the above questions in your own blog (link me to it) or in my comments.

Whenever I think of something like that, I will post it under Q & A. All bloggers welcome. I would love to pick your brains. Isn’t diversity fascinating?

Okay, so I just read this article on riding bikes with your baby. I am kinda concerned. They don’t even make helmets that size for a reason. Erin’s head circumference is 16.5 inches and they really don’t come smaller than 18 in. I don’t know if we should continue to ride with her. Keri, does Corgan wear a helmet? Where did you get it? We do have a bike trailer that has NEVER tipped while riding with us. Maybe we should just keep her in there until she is big enough to wear a helmet.

Our weekend was exhausting but lots of fun. It began Saturday morning. Leah and I went to Kenna & Andy’s dance recital. The theme was Under the Big Top and all the acts were circus-related. The girls did a GREAT job. I got so giddy thinking about Leah possibly being in a recital next year. The kids were SO adorable! In the lobby they had carnival-like games. Leah & Ian loved the popcorn and lollipops.

Saturday night I made black bean, corn, and avocado salsa and pepper jack and spinach quesadillas that were all freaking delicious! Arielle (who took Leah’s bday pics) and her boyfriend John were staying the night so Bryan and Laurie brought the kids to sleep over so we could play games. Ian & Leah proceeded to play in Leah’s room until at least 9pm. So much for the sleeping part. We drank chocolate martinis (thanks, L) and played a very rowdy game of Loaded Questions. Fun was had by all.

Leah woke up Sunday morning to Ian in her trundle bed. She was super excited to see him there. They got up and Mike made them waffles, which they ate in the playroom dressed as princesses. We played outside a LOT in the AM and went to the water park for the first time this season that afternoon. The water was pretty freezing, I did not get in more than sitting in the very shallow end to let Erin splash.

She sat on my lap and put her feet in because I did not want her rash in the water. I don’t know how chlorine would affect it but I didn’t want to take any chances. Leah had a ball!

She went down the slide with Daddy and jumped in MANY times. Once she went completely under for a few seconds and she cried. But within minutes she was right back to jumping. She has come SO far! I am so proud of her.

Today we headed to McAlpine Creek Park for a picnic and bike-riding. On the way there we stopped at Wal-Mart to buy child carriers for the back of our bikes. They took FOREVER to assemble but the girls were really good. We got them loaded up and took off on the trails.

It was lots of fun and we will be bike-riding much more often now that we have these carriers. (Mike’s pic was taken later at home. I could not sit with Erin and take pictures.)

We headed for home and the girls fell asleep. Just as we were passing the Dollar Ice Cream Cone place they both woke up. SO we stopped and ate some ice cream. Then Mike said, “Well, now that everyone is awake, let’s go the the skate park.” So we did.

Waxhaw has a tiny skate park next to a playground. Leah ran around for a while, then put on her skates to ride with Daddy. Check this out!

I could not believe that she was brave enough to drop in on the half-pipe. She had a blast skating with Daddy. Maybe we do have a future X Games participant on our hands. Mike is already talking about upgrading her to real roller blades when her feet are big enough and taking her to skate camp in Pennsylvania. Seriously!

So that is our weekend recap. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

PS I just uploaded the pics Arielle took at Leah’s party and more pics from this weekend to our website. Many thanks to Arielle for a wonderful job!

I overheard Leah in the playroom just now saying something that sounded inappropriate. I poked my head in and asked, “What did you say?”

Leah said, “I said Zam it.”

Well, Zam it!

For those who have RSS feeds, I updated Leah’s birthday post with some pictures.