Cross-posted and archived from DC Metro Moms. Original post date March 6, 2008. Does anyone even remember this show from TLC? Maybe I am looking into it too deep. Maybe I want more information and I should just relax because after all it is only television and it is a reality show. However, I recently watched TLC's newest venture, The Secret Life of a Soccer Mom (SLSM), and found that the show left me with a bunch questions. Questions that were left unanswered. The Secret Life of a Soccer Mom is the latest in reality shows. It takes one stay at home mom and gives her a week to secretly see what her life would have been like if she had chosen to go back to work instead of staying home with the kids full time. OK, first off? You can't go back. There is no ramping off the career … [Read more...]
Diary of a Weakling
MondayDear Diary,It's Monday and I'm determined to keep up with the flow of this house and two children. Yes, the idea of going to the mechanic's is not ideal during nap time but we'll prevail.....Right?Heh.TuesdayDear Diary,Today the girls and I went for a twenty minute walk. I can do this. I don't need the gym. We'll save money during my suspended membership and we'll all get fresh air. Pushing the stroller and walking at a snails pace will be just fine. I'll do all six loads of laundry and the girls and I will spend loads of time playing together too.WednesdayDear Diary,Um..I might have overdone it with the walking, the laundry, the doing every day things. I've got a cold now and woke myself up from a nap due to snoring. The girls were … [Read more...]
You’re a Bad Mommy
Scene: In the girls bathroom, brushing TD's hair. We are in get ready for school mode.TD: (frowning at her reflection in the mirror. A permanent scowl has been on her face all morning.) "Mommy, you are a bad mommy."Me: (Stifling a sigh and the urge to rip through her hair because all morning has been this way. The frowns. The whines. The cries. The dissatisfaction.) "I'm a bad mommy? Hm..." I wait a beat as she nods in confirmation.Me: "TD, if I was a bad mommy I wouldn't care that you said that. It hurt my feelings. If I was a bad mommy I wouldn't be combing your hair or helping you get dressed or feeding you breakfast. Would you like it if I said you were a bad daughter?" TD: "Nooo...."Me: (Feeling overwhelmed by sadness and … [Read more...]
Two Kids, One Mom and a Junk Yard
"Um..yeah, if you could just pick up the plates and EZ-pass at the collision place tomorrow that would be great....." I have now succeeded in making H sound like Lumbergh. I asked him if there were any other items in the car and he said, "Maybe a box. That's it." So I went to the collision place that offers cash for junk cars today- eesh. On top of going to the grocery store, trying to get some work done- blogging and otherwise, building a volcano, calling the cable company, insurance company, doing laundry, calling garage cleanout in san diego county and cleaning the house. I'm leaving this week for a business trip and there is loads to do before I head out on Wednesday. I feel like I'm forgetting something. Right! The kids. I also made sure they didn't run in traffic, burn … [Read more...]
The Beliefs Behind the Work at Home Mother
Dog food. Dog food all over the floor. Dog food in the dog's water dish. It happened in about six seconds. One minute the dog was happily eating her breakfast. The next, destruction in the form of The Comedian crossed her path. To the right of the dog food disaster is a bathroom. A lid to a pot is now in the toilet. Directly behind the dog food mess is a trail of cereal bits and Matzo cracker crumbs that goes all the way down the stairs to the den and litters the floor in various spots in there. Go back up the stairs and there is a Matzo cracker massacre littering the living room floor. The dog, Lex, exacted her revenge on The Comedian in this crumbly spot. Look up and you will see the staircase leading … [Read more...]
Taking a Break and Some Guilt
After riding behind someone driving a Nissan Xterra who put their hazard lights on to drive through slush, grocery shopping through the holiday melee and putting up a good sweat at the gym I felt a bit addled yesterday. Wanting to beat someone for driving badly in slush is not on par for this time of year. My black heart was still neatly intact. I needed to squelch this irritable air. Fast.I unpacked the groceries, skipping over the black ice, fed the kids lunch and then put them down for naps. Instead of running to my laptop to get work done, putting away laundry, toys or cleaning up other areas of the house and our life, I grabbed a copy of Elle and a cup of coffee. Then I sat my butt down on the couch and read the rest of the magazine, which … [Read more...]
Working with Kids. The Unsolvable Equation.
I woke up late today. So much for Body Pump. I fear I will never see streamlined thighs again. I find myself running around today trying to catch falling yogurt cups before they hit the floor with a splat. Racing down the stairs with the dog who can't keep up and ends up tumbling to the landing in a yelping heap. There I am again on a work phone call, scooping cheerios off a high chair tray as I try to sound coherent and intelligent while TD yells in the background. That's just a fellow co-worker about to go postal over a PowerPoint presentation, right? Five seconds later I'm emailing Gymboree about Bubble Camp and settling TD into a good hour of Sesame Street. Meanwhile The Comedian tries to rewire our entertainment system. I swear that child will know how to hot wire a car by age … [Read more...]
I’m Not Winning Any Awards Over Here
It's been one of those weeks where I'm quite sure my neighbors are thinking, "What in the world is going on over there!?! That crazy lady's kids are always crying!" Umm... yeah. I feel like I should be labeled with 'The Worst Mother of the Year' award.It is not that I'm sitting back trying to catch up on a season's worth of Grey's Anatomy or anything either. I'm simply trying to just get through each and every day. No matter what I do though there is always crying or whining in the background. I try to take out the trash and there is crying. I am loading or unloading the dishwasher and someone begins to whine. I am trying to keep the floor clean and both kids are going at once. This is not a case of trying to keep it all pristine and perfect either. I know too well that lesson that … [Read more...]
Work At Home Mom Takes a Meeting
You give yourself an hour to get somewhere that takes thirty minutes. You take three hours to get yourself and the two kids ready for an outing that will take about three hours as well. On the way to the meeting you get hit with some gnarly traffic, get lost on a few one way streets, scream so loud in a parking garage your three year-old quips, "Look, Mommy! Curious George! Just calm down..." Realize you need to valet the car and get two kids in car seats out with all their gear and some shorty (I kid, because I love) is standing in your spot texting away. An angel descends on your car and takes the oldest by the hand and leads you into the building.After a quick hello to Clifford, the big red dog, you drop the kiddies off and head to your meeting. You are dressed, your hair is coiffed … [Read more...]
The Walls. They are Closing in on Me.
Who knew that birthday gift aftermath is just like Christmas gift aftermath. Our living room is a sea of ridiculously bright wrapping paper, twisty ties and various sizes of plastic and cardboard. Just seeing it this morning made me want to turn around and go back upstairs to hide under the covers. Both kids need a bath today and I'm exhausted just thinking about it. I feel old.Throw in the fact that H is going to a networking happy hour tonight and will be home late and I just want to start imbibing the happy juice myself all before 10 a.m. I think that the fact that I know I won't be getting my weekly dose of girls night this week is making me a bit loopy. I've been asked to "take some time off from that for a while". My weekly dose of girl time/adult interaction/conversations that … [Read more...]