Mommy's Daily Top Ten - I'm back!

Yes, I have been away for (a-hem) a year, but I have decide to make good use of all my "free" time (a.k.a the time I am on the toilet) to reinvest in myself and relaunch mommy's daily top ten.

10 - pounds I have gained since school ended... and I wanted to blame my teacher friends for the slow sloughing of the baby weight... I guess watching 90210 marathons is not inspiring me to lose the weight.  Surprise, surprise.

9 - p.m. is when Mackenzie now decides to go to bed.  She still wakes up at 4:00.  You do the math.

8 - dollars worth of change Abby wants to count.  She has more money than me.  Actually, it is probably my money she steals from the bowl by the door...

7 - bags of chips, all open.  Two bags are plain, two are Honey Nut Chex Mix, two are pretzels and one is tortilla chips.  So, I literally have a potato chip buffet.  Sadly, Mackenzie tastes the difference between them all and sometimes I have to bring 4 bowls of chips before I have the right one.

6 - pieces of french toast in Mackenzie's mouth.  I guess you can fit that many when you only have five teeth...

5 - pairs of sandals.  Abby loves shoes, but I just didn't realize I had bought her that many.  She has a gold pair, a silver pair, a pair of flip flops, a brown pair and a blue pair.  And she plays favorites (give her time, she will learn to love them all equally... but at least I can wait a little longer to stand by the door and wait for her to put together an outfit, put on make-up, do her hair, choose shoes, and a purse...)

4 -nails I got to clip on Mackenzie before she decided she didn't mind grabbing my arm with her Wolverinish fingers.  After all, she has a better grip when her nails pierce my flesh.  Like when eels or jellyfish stun their prey so they cannot escape.  Yea, like that. No escape.

3 - potties I now own.  Mackenzie will sit on it, and I give her an M&M as a reward, but once Abby figured out there were "free M&M's for each poop or pee" she left the adult toilet for the one offering the reward.

2 - more weeks until the beach!  Abby has been asking to go to the beach for 4 months, but I don't think she actually knows that will involve getting dirty... and hot... and there will be bugs.

1- night out with friends... but of course the children were the bread and butter of the meal.  It made me realize that my girls are exerting their independence, and I have to exert mine too.  Happy 4th!

Just Do It...

So I am quickly learning that complaining REALLY doesn't do any good.

I've told this to my students many times, and honestly I thought it would make me feel better...

but it just makes me feel like a slacker.

Two kids.  Two jobs.  Zero energy.  Negative income.   

I've had the best of worst luck this month.  My car breaks down.  Yes, the one I am still paying on for the next year.  Yes, the one I bought because it is known for reliablility.  The one lucky part of it all is it broke down when I got to my destination. 

Then, the bank drafts my car payment twice.  Yes, twice.  Yes, on the car I am still paying for but that does not run.

Thus, the second draft bounces my daycare check.  Great first impression on the new daycare.

So yes, I've had a lot to complain about.  And in all this I ALWAYS forget the good things that are going on.

MacKenzie can sit up.  Alone.  No help.

Abby is using the potty like 5 times a day.  By herself.  Flushing and everything.

My kids have not been really ill this year.  My breastfeeding paid off.

We have awesome friends that pass down toys and clothes to us, saving us TONS of money.

I have people close to me who truly care about my kids.

I have two great jobs that allow me to do what I love... help people express themselves through words.  And, the people I work with are amazing.  They are my family away from my family.

These things help motivate me to suck it up and just do it.  No matter how tired I am when MacKenzie has gotten me up at night, I drag myself into my classroom and feel the vibes of young minds compiling words to make meaning.   It energizes me. 

When I come home from lecturing and I don't think I can say another word, I find plenty to say to Abby and Rob because I love them and miss them.  They energize me.

Even though I used be a gym rat, take graduate classes, work 3 jobs, and still hit karaoke twice a week, I still can't dwell on what was.  If I just do it, I simply don't have time to complain.  Living in the moment isn't about taking control of uncontrollable situations, but accepting situations as they are: one guitar strum in the larger symphony of life.