I am 26-years-old...not old at all, but out of my "fun" early twenties. However, while I am only 26, I feel like I am an old 26. A lot of my friends are not married, have no kids, are even still in school. Yet I am married, I have an almost 3-year-old, a 10-year-old step daughter, I graduated from college now 4 years ago, and my career is a preschool teacher. In my free time I wash clothes, clean house, carpool, go to parks, and cook dinners...and I sometimes find time to go running. I sometimes feel like my life resembles a 30/40-year-old and not a 26-year-old.
So I find ways to hang on to my youth. I stay the same size I was at 20, I still go to the tanning bed once every two weeks (begin the lectures), I color my hair every 6 weeks (I have made my hair dresser swear to never tell me when my hair goes grey/white), I wear ridiculously short shorts (I debated this one but the husband requested they stay), AND I still have my belly button pierced from when I was 18 and snuck and got it done.
That's right-I am a belly button pierced Mom and preschool teacher. And I like it.
Recently I had surgery and was asked if I had any more metal on me. I said no until John pointed out my belly button ring was still in-I had forgotten I even had it. It has become more of a part of my body after 8 years then an accessory. I took it off, handed it to John, and he lost it. I think he did it on purpose. When I brought it up 5 days later (once the pain killer fog lifted) he told me he didn't want me to wear it anymore. It didn't seem like a bad request so I agreed and moved on.
Then last week while John was out-of-town, I decided to surprise him and clean out his car for him, wash it, and vacuum it...quite the job if you've seen his car! While cleaning it I found my belly button ring in his car door. After thinking about it for a few minutes I decided not wearing it was like giving up my big rebel move of my youth when I turned 18 and snuck and got it pierced. A piece of my youth I am not willing to give up yet. So I slipped it back in and made the deal with myself that I will wear it as long as my stomach is still flat. Pending that body change, I will take it out. Until then I will hold on to one of the few things that reminds me I am ONLY 26:-).
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
My advice at 26-years-old
I was talking to one of my long time friends (we've known each other 12 years) the other day. We were "discussing" (okay maybe gossiping) about a mutual friend who recently divorced. She actually dated the guy longer then she was married (I can breathe a sigh of relief, I hit that benchmark month 5 of my marriage-ha!). The friend I was talking to will be tying the knot pretty soon and I instantly assured her that marriage was the opposite of what our other friend made it out to be. Marriage is a blast. And I truly mean that.
When I met John I knew I had met my match. I fell in love quick and hard and was married on August 1st, 2008...5 months after our first date. I have never thought I made too hasty of a decision (although I'm sure some thought we were) and I am married to my best friend. Cheesy but true. I told my friend all this and could tell she was glad to hear it. I believe in marriage. I believe in my marriage. And I believe that being married has made my life completely fulfilled. I'm positive many do great single (I did before I met John), but I believe life would be lonely if I had never met my husband.
That said we then moved on to the topic of babies (after doing some random catching up gossip...typical girls!). Another one of our mutual friends who we have known almost as long as each other is pregnant (and another testimony to being in a happy marriage). I was so excited for her and found myself campaigning for my friend who hasn't even gotten married yet to hurry up and get pregnant (I blame it on working for the Birmingham diocese!).
Considering I have been married a whole 21 months and I considered myself the marriage expert surely I could dispense a compelling argument for birthing a child; I've been a mom 33 months (note the sarcasm)!
To explain my argument for being a Mom I must first tell you some about my day. I had told my friend that for me (others might differ) one of the biggest benefits is getting to relive your childhood (this is especially true because I take the kids to the same zoo, parks, and so on that I grew-up with because I live where I grew-up). Today Jaylyn and I took Cooper to my church for a 2 hour cooking class (I can only imagine what it was like-it was for ages 2-5...they are so brave). We left Cooper and went to the new Treetop Family Adventure. Where $20 later we had played enough arcade games to win 450 tickets and go bowling. Now don't be fooled. I was not sitting there watching as Jaylyn played in the arcade. I was playing every game she was and I had a great time doing it.
We then picked up Cooper (who told me he had "made dinner"...so cute!) and went grocery shopping (blah) and came home. The kids and I laid down and watched the movie "UP" (another perk to having kids...you get to watch all the cute kid movies) and then ran some errands. Cooper went down for a nap, I cleaned house, and then Jaylyn left for her mom's house. When Cooper woke-up he requested snuggle time (which I gladly gave) and he told me how much he loved me, how he was Mommy's boy (not Daddy's boy), and gave me kisses. Then I remembered one thing I forgot to tell my friend...that having a child is great because for all you do for them, you get it all back when they kiss you and tell you they love you.
Now don't get me wrong, I am not disillusioned. Will John and I have fights? Yes. Will Cooper and Jaylyn make me crazy as they get older? I'm sure they will. Will other problems arise that will never make it on this blog? Most definitely. Do I feel blessed and know that John and I will walk through this world hand in hand dealing with whatever comes up? You better believe it (unless our hands start to sweat and then I might walk beside him instead).
Moral of the story to my friend of 12 years (who I'm sure will read this blog)-get married, reproduce, and enjoy life;-). Oh and I am sooo ready to sing at your wedding...Celine Dion here I come!
When I met John I knew I had met my match. I fell in love quick and hard and was married on August 1st, 2008...5 months after our first date. I have never thought I made too hasty of a decision (although I'm sure some thought we were) and I am married to my best friend. Cheesy but true. I told my friend all this and could tell she was glad to hear it. I believe in marriage. I believe in my marriage. And I believe that being married has made my life completely fulfilled. I'm positive many do great single (I did before I met John), but I believe life would be lonely if I had never met my husband.
That said we then moved on to the topic of babies (after doing some random catching up gossip...typical girls!). Another one of our mutual friends who we have known almost as long as each other is pregnant (and another testimony to being in a happy marriage). I was so excited for her and found myself campaigning for my friend who hasn't even gotten married yet to hurry up and get pregnant (I blame it on working for the Birmingham diocese!).
Considering I have been married a whole 21 months and I considered myself the marriage expert surely I could dispense a compelling argument for birthing a child; I've been a mom 33 months (note the sarcasm)!
To explain my argument for being a Mom I must first tell you some about my day. I had told my friend that for me (others might differ) one of the biggest benefits is getting to relive your childhood (this is especially true because I take the kids to the same zoo, parks, and so on that I grew-up with because I live where I grew-up). Today Jaylyn and I took Cooper to my church for a 2 hour cooking class (I can only imagine what it was like-it was for ages 2-5...they are so brave). We left Cooper and went to the new Treetop Family Adventure. Where $20 later we had played enough arcade games to win 450 tickets and go bowling. Now don't be fooled. I was not sitting there watching as Jaylyn played in the arcade. I was playing every game she was and I had a great time doing it.
We then picked up Cooper (who told me he had "made dinner"...so cute!) and went grocery shopping (blah) and came home. The kids and I laid down and watched the movie "UP" (another perk to having kids...you get to watch all the cute kid movies) and then ran some errands. Cooper went down for a nap, I cleaned house, and then Jaylyn left for her mom's house. When Cooper woke-up he requested snuggle time (which I gladly gave) and he told me how much he loved me, how he was Mommy's boy (not Daddy's boy), and gave me kisses. Then I remembered one thing I forgot to tell my friend...that having a child is great because for all you do for them, you get it all back when they kiss you and tell you they love you.
Now don't get me wrong, I am not disillusioned. Will John and I have fights? Yes. Will Cooper and Jaylyn make me crazy as they get older? I'm sure they will. Will other problems arise that will never make it on this blog? Most definitely. Do I feel blessed and know that John and I will walk through this world hand in hand dealing with whatever comes up? You better believe it (unless our hands start to sweat and then I might walk beside him instead).
Moral of the story to my friend of 12 years (who I'm sure will read this blog)-get married, reproduce, and enjoy life;-). Oh and I am sooo ready to sing at your wedding...Celine Dion here I come!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Oh What a Morning...
Last night John and I discussed babies...as of this morning I am canceling our discussion from last night on. Why? Read on...
My morning so far:
5:51 am-Cooper who normally sleeps until 7:45 or later crawls into our bed...wide awake
6:00 am-After listening to John tell him to be quiet I give in realizing my face is throbbing anyways (I am only 2 weeks post surgery, 4 weeks to go). I get up, change his diaper, and make the requested chocolate milk (aka chalky)
6:10 am- TV is requested. I see an opportunity to turn the TV on and meet my husband back in bed. He wants Thomas the train so I put that on. Wait he doesn't want Thomas. He wants Cars. I put that on. Wait, no he wants Shrek, which is still in my purse from taking it Grandparents. I locate my purse and put Shrek on. No never mind King Cooper wants Cars after all so I put that on and run (actually sprint) out of the room before a new request is made.
6:20am- Back in bed to find husband playing on IPhone NOT asleep. I try to fall back asleep as he decides to try to talk.
6:30am-Cooper comes into the run and wakes me up to tell me he wants to now watch Flinstones in his room and needs me to do it. I get up and set it up...not even bothering to walk downstairs and turn off Cars. During this time husband escapes to computer downstairs.
6:40am-Cooper decides to crawl in bed with me and wants to watch TV in my room. Awesome. Somehow I find Sprout and once again try to fall asleep and ignore my throbbing face.
7:00am- Cooper runs into the kid's bathroom where John has decided to shower to remind John not to play with any of his toys. A lesson on sharing begins (for the record John was not playing with his toys).
7:10am-John leaves for work. Kisses me goodbye. Cooper refuses to kiss then chases John down the hall begging him to kiss him.
7:15am-Cooper begins crying because John forgot to hug him. I hand him a teddy bear to cheer him up. I give up on sleep. The Wiggles are on so I opt to read a book on parenting by Alex McCord of Real Housewives fame. I always like to read a book on parenting so I can block out my own child. Nice.
7:30am-Cooper begins tossing his bear in the air and catching it right beside me. Bear hits me in the face. The same face broken in 4places. I cry. Cooper is scared. He stops throwing bear.
7:35am-Cooper wants my attention. To achieve his goal teddy bear hits me in my face. Teddy Bear gets put in top drawer of chest of drawers. John gets called but can't hear me over two-year-old screaming. I cry some more in pain. John comforts, tells me to beat said two-year-old, and lets me go.
7:40am-I give bear back to end crying and talk about throwing and hitting Mommy in the face.
7:50am-Bear hits me in the face. I cry. Bear is now dead. I get a diet coke, take two Advil (I'm alone with the two-year-old so pain killers are out), and lay back down with child.
7:55am-Cooper asks for some coke. I let him have a sip. He spits it all over bedroom floor. Great. 8:00am-I give up. I put Dora on TV and try to escape to shower. Two-year-old follows and sits in the bathroom with me while I shower. He turns lights on and off, finds my hair brush, and uses it as a drumstick on my toilet, shower door, wall, floor, etc. Of course I can't yell because of broken face.
8:05am-Take away hair brush. Redirect Cooper to Dora. Get ready. My mom calls. I try to stay calm so she doesn't worry.
8:15am-Get Cooper breakfast. He sees Cars from earlier and wants Mater and the Ghost light. Turn that on. Check e-mail.
8:30am-After restarting Mater twice (It's only 7 minutes long) Cooper wants more food. Get more food.
8:35-Kill the bug that has Cooper crying.
8:40am-Clean up more spit out diet coke that Cooper found.
8:45am-Clean up from Cooper's breakfast.
8:55am-Cooper starts playing with trains. He is definitely pooping in his diaper. I ignore this fact and decide cleaning up poop (in his diaper) is worth getting 15 minutes free (Cooper has to be alone to poop).
9:00am-Take to blog to vent and scare all my child-less and pregnant friends.
9:09am-Feel mildly better. Getting ready to change poop diaper. Hoping face doesn't get kicked. Waiting for Becca to get here to help.
My morning so far:
5:51 am-Cooper who normally sleeps until 7:45 or later crawls into our bed...wide awake
6:00 am-After listening to John tell him to be quiet I give in realizing my face is throbbing anyways (I am only 2 weeks post surgery, 4 weeks to go). I get up, change his diaper, and make the requested chocolate milk (aka chalky)
6:10 am- TV is requested. I see an opportunity to turn the TV on and meet my husband back in bed. He wants Thomas the train so I put that on. Wait he doesn't want Thomas. He wants Cars. I put that on. Wait, no he wants Shrek, which is still in my purse from taking it Grandparents. I locate my purse and put Shrek on. No never mind King Cooper wants Cars after all so I put that on and run (actually sprint) out of the room before a new request is made.
6:20am- Back in bed to find husband playing on IPhone NOT asleep. I try to fall back asleep as he decides to try to talk.
6:30am-Cooper comes into the run and wakes me up to tell me he wants to now watch Flinstones in his room and needs me to do it. I get up and set it up...not even bothering to walk downstairs and turn off Cars. During this time husband escapes to computer downstairs.
6:40am-Cooper decides to crawl in bed with me and wants to watch TV in my room. Awesome. Somehow I find Sprout and once again try to fall asleep and ignore my throbbing face.
7:00am- Cooper runs into the kid's bathroom where John has decided to shower to remind John not to play with any of his toys. A lesson on sharing begins (for the record John was not playing with his toys).
7:10am-John leaves for work. Kisses me goodbye. Cooper refuses to kiss then chases John down the hall begging him to kiss him.
7:15am-Cooper begins crying because John forgot to hug him. I hand him a teddy bear to cheer him up. I give up on sleep. The Wiggles are on so I opt to read a book on parenting by Alex McCord of Real Housewives fame. I always like to read a book on parenting so I can block out my own child. Nice.
7:30am-Cooper begins tossing his bear in the air and catching it right beside me. Bear hits me in the face. The same face broken in 4places. I cry. Cooper is scared. He stops throwing bear.
7:35am-Cooper wants my attention. To achieve his goal teddy bear hits me in my face. Teddy Bear gets put in top drawer of chest of drawers. John gets called but can't hear me over two-year-old screaming. I cry some more in pain. John comforts, tells me to beat said two-year-old, and lets me go.
7:40am-I give bear back to end crying and talk about throwing and hitting Mommy in the face.
7:50am-Bear hits me in the face. I cry. Bear is now dead. I get a diet coke, take two Advil (I'm alone with the two-year-old so pain killers are out), and lay back down with child.
7:55am-Cooper asks for some coke. I let him have a sip. He spits it all over bedroom floor. Great. 8:00am-I give up. I put Dora on TV and try to escape to shower. Two-year-old follows and sits in the bathroom with me while I shower. He turns lights on and off, finds my hair brush, and uses it as a drumstick on my toilet, shower door, wall, floor, etc. Of course I can't yell because of broken face.
8:05am-Take away hair brush. Redirect Cooper to Dora. Get ready. My mom calls. I try to stay calm so she doesn't worry.
8:15am-Get Cooper breakfast. He sees Cars from earlier and wants Mater and the Ghost light. Turn that on. Check e-mail.
8:30am-After restarting Mater twice (It's only 7 minutes long) Cooper wants more food. Get more food.
8:35-Kill the bug that has Cooper crying.
8:40am-Clean up more spit out diet coke that Cooper found.
8:45am-Clean up from Cooper's breakfast.
8:55am-Cooper starts playing with trains. He is definitely pooping in his diaper. I ignore this fact and decide cleaning up poop (in his diaper) is worth getting 15 minutes free (Cooper has to be alone to poop).
9:00am-Take to blog to vent and scare all my child-less and pregnant friends.
9:09am-Feel mildly better. Getting ready to change poop diaper. Hoping face doesn't get kicked. Waiting for Becca to get here to help.
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