Exercise?

So, in my quest to simplify my life, I have decided that I need to find an extra hour in every day to exercise.  I came to this conclusion yesterday while I was standing at the pool in my new bathing suit, thinking I should be feeling great, yet I felt a little jiggly!!  I am so proud of myself for losing the weight that I gained while I was pregnant (yea me!); I'm not proud of myself for not firming up the way I wanted to.  Before baby, I had envisioned getting home from work every day, putting on my sneakers and going for walk or a run with the baby in the stroller; now, I am lucky to get home from work, get everyone fed and in their PJs before bedtime - by the time I get it all done, I am too tired to lift my head off the couch, much less go for a run.  "Run" is no longer in this mom's vocabulary....But it's summer time now and I want to be that "hot" mom at the pool that all the other mom's look at with envy, wishing they could have my body.  Or that my husband looks at with the look in his eye that says, "Yep, that's my wife."  So, I am going to try to get this body in motion and get in shape - I'll let you know if I make it farther than the end of the driveway!

Bully in the First Grade

How do you teach your first grader that violence is never the answer?  Who would have thought that you would even have to worry about it at this age?  Just when you think everything is going good, wham!  Another problem arises!  (Isn't that always the case?)  There is a child in my son's first grade class that could possibly be classified as a bully.  We have been told about this kid pushing my son and other kids around.  Well, of course we have the standard answer, "Ignore him.  If it's a problem, tell the teacher."  We even talked to the teacher about it during parent-teacher conferences.  Then the other day, we get a phone call saying that our son's buddy in class got beat up by this so-called bully.  Beat up - in the first grade!  Who has ever heard of this kind of stuff?  Maybe it's the bubble I live in, but seriously, they are too young to be faced with this kind of stuff.  But our boy, realizing that something wasn't right, went and got the teacher.  That took a lot of guts to do that, and we are so proud of him.  So, apparently, talking with your children IS the answer.  Tell your kids that violence is never the answer.  Tell your kids that it's okay to walk away and it's okay to get the teacher.  Bullying and violence in schools has got to stop and it's got to stop now!

What is wrong with people?

I am a nice person - yes, I can be very intense when I am working on a project and my personality can be a bit strong when I know something can be done and I am told no - but overall, I am a very nice person.  As I walk to the sign-in sheet in the morning, I speak to everyone I see.  I say good morning, even say "How are you?" if the opportunity presents itself.  I am in no way obligated to speak, it's just what I do.  So, why would someone tell management that I don't speak to them in passing?  Not everyone I say good morning to speaks back, most don't even acknowledge me, but I continue on my way, hoping that my good morning might brighten just some one's day....but I am not running to my management saying, "I said good morning to so and so this morning and they didn't say good morning back."  I thought that I had graduated from high school and entered the real world, but apparently we never actually leave that world.  No matter how old we are, how many years we have under our belts, we will still be faced with the behind the back "drama" that we tell everyone we don't do!  If they ever do a "Real Housewives of Annapolis" sign me up because I live the life every day!!!

Mother's Day

So, yesterday was my second official mother's day.  Aaahh, I get to sleep in, do nothing all day and have my husband spoil me - right?  Wrong!!  Due to the overeating of my son on Saturday evening, my husband and I were washing sheets at 11:00 pm and ended up falling asleep on the sofa, to which I woke up at 6:00 am (on the only day that I am given a hall pass to sleep as late as I want) and quietly turned on the tv and watched the new episode of Ruby (I can't help it, I am addicted to reality television).  An hour and a half later, the baby woke up; my husband, who had gone into my stepson's bedroom in the middle of the night, came running out and down the hall to get the baby so Mommy doesn't wake up...too late, Mommy already awake, getting baby out of his crib.  Snuggling back into bed with "little bit,"waiting for my husband to come back with a little bit of milk for the hungry one, my son looks at me and says, "Hap Mommy" and I melt.  All of a sudden I don't remember the incident from the night before or the temper tantrum last Wednesday because I put the wagon away.  All I could think of was how lucky I am to be able to be called "Mommy" and to have this wonderful, precious one look up at me and know that I will always be there for him despite the moments that my perfectionist world would rather not acknowledge.  I think this could be the best mother's day EVER!!  Hap Mommy to all the mothers out there!

My First Blog

So, while today is my first day blogging, it's just another day in the life of me.  Does anyone ever feel like they are in a rut?  Get up in the morning, get ready for work, fee the baby, pass the baby to your husband to dress, brush teeth, put jacket on, grab baby, out the door for the almost one hour commute to work (and the commute is even stuck in a rut - I get stuck in traffic at the same place every day), work all day, pick the baby up from day care, go home, fix dinner, bathe the baby, put baby to bed, shower, pj's, fall asleep watching tv and wake up and do it all over again!  Now there is some joy in there - my baby is not truly a baby anymore - he's 19 months old and learning new things every day.  And my 7 year old stepson is smart as a whip so he will keep you on your toes - but some times I feel like "same ole, same ole"....and that's why I wanted to write this blog.  To share some of my experiences as a working mom, trying to keep her head above water and still enjoy life a little bit - or try to!!