Sometimes I am just overwhelmed at the enormity of having kids.  Sometimes my heart just overflows with love and joy.

This means that I cry a lot.

I cry because my little ones are so precious.  I cry because they are so sweet, and caring and innocent.

I am often overwhelmed.  I’m sure you understand.

I know that I have already filled you in on my severe case of mommy guilt this Mother’s Day. And while it may be true that I had to miss Jedi’s Mother’s Day Tea at school today, I have a number of excellent friends who, through the miracle of technology, shared the event with me via the internet.  (My mother also volunteered to serve as a “surrogate mom” for the event…Thank goodness!)

Thank you to my friends for understanding the struggles of being a working mom and for unselfishly thinking of me during your own child’s tribute to YOU.  Thank you also to the teachers for putting together these wonderful events that remind us just how fun being a mom really is.

Happy Mother’s Day to all.

Tags: cry, internet, Kid Mania, mommy guilt, Mother's Day, school, technology

Actual conversation with Tiny Ninja at the dinner table:

Ninja: I need a spoon.

Me: Mmm. (Cause I am eating and anyone who is a parent knows you have 3.2 seconds to eat your food before the kids want you to get back up and get them ketchup or another random condiment that they never use but seem to need on the table before they can commencewith the eating process.)

Ninja: I need a spoon.

Me: Mmm.

Ninja: Can you get me a spoon, Mom?

Me: Go get one yourself. Oh, and while you are up – get one for your brother.

Ninja: (rolling eyes) I’m like a SERVANT.

Me: Welcome to my world.

“I’m like a servant.” Can you believe he said that? Wait until today when I have him washing the baseboards. (Why? My in-laws are coming and the kids are FREE LABOR, that is why.)

Get a grip, kiddo. You are lucky you are still young. That ain’t exactly child labor.

Random Kid Comment Of The Week:
“Put a little POP in your step, mom!” – Young Jedi. (While I was setting the dinner table.)

Tags: child labor, get over it kid, kid labor, random kid comment, ridiculous, servant, welcome to my world

My son caught me crying yesterday morning.

I had a tremendous case of MOMMY GUILT.

I was in the middle of filling out my calendar when I realized that I wouldn’t be able to attend his second grade Mother’s Day celebration. Now I’ve been to this celebration once before with my older son and, truthfully, it is kinda sad to see the kids who’s moms couldn’t make it. The whole thing consists of cookies, some tea and an amazing presentation that has your picture with a hand-written poem created by your child. There is a lot of hand holding and “I Love You’s” going around.

So I already knew how he was going to be feeling with out me. I felt very guilty. And then he caught me.

Of course, being the little man that he is, he ended up comforting ME instead of me comforting HIM. I guess the upside to all of this is that at least he knows that I didn’t take it lightly.

It is so hard to be a working mother. I’m gonna be honest here, I wish I wasn’t working. Especially during times like this. I hate missing celebrations. I hate missing field trips and I really hate disappointing my kids.

But, I have to work. And I know I am not alone out there. There is a whole slew of us working moms out there trying to do the best we can to raise our families and create happy, healthy, well-rounded children.

I just wish we could do it with out the guilt. (Incidentally,  I am Catholic too… talk about a double whammy!)

Tags: celebrations, mommy guilt, Mother's Day, school

The times, they are a changin’ for us moms. Gone are the days when we could arrive on the scene sans makeup, clad on in a stained t-shirt, un-matching pants and a hat.  Oh yes, those days are long gone.  There is a new standard – perfection.

Truthfully, I blame the recent wave of celebumoms. I am talking about the likes of Victoria Beckham, Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry, and Heidi Klum…  They’re beautiful, they’re hip and they have taken motherhood by storm.  These lovely ladies pop kids out and show up on the scene four weeks later with a flat stomach, manicured nails and a fabulous new hairstyle.  In short, they look like they took a vacation instead of an intense experience with labor and delivery.

Was there an option I missed when I had my babies? A “platinum” package or something that was offered to expectant moms?  Because apparently, when filling out my hospital admission forms, I checked the wrong box.  No one ever asked me, “Mrs. Gerlock, would you like the luxury-spa-delivery-option or the you’ll-never-be-the-same-again delivery experience?”  I don’t know.  Maybe they did and I just misinterpreted the second option.  I recall being in a bit of pain at the time…  Perhaps I wasn’t paying close attention.

Given the public’s obsession with all things celebrity, we mothers now find ourselves having to endure countless images on television, in magazines and on the internet of sexy celebumoms with their perfect children clad in designer clothing attending spectacular events.  A very difficult standard for most of us in the real world to live up to.

I don’t know about you, but the last time I felt sexy was in 1994 and that was prior to having children. As for the designer clothing, in my family that would be Target.  Seriously.  I have boys.  Boys go through clothes like I go through chocolate bars.  And for the record, we don’t attend major functions all that much due to the fact that my offspring feel compelled to mortify me at any given opportunity.  No worries, I’ll get them back.  Wait until they are teenagers, I have a plan.

It is not a secret that celebrity moms don’t do it alone.  They have an army of employees at their beck and call – personal trainers, chefs, nannies, housekeepers, assistants, you name it.  What I want to know is how some “normal” moms seem to be doing it also. I see fabulous mommies everywhere now.  Everywhere.  It is a horrifying trend.

There are fab mommies at the park.  Hip mommies on the PTA, and let’s not even discuss the ones who are bikini clad at the pool. Who are these women, where did they come from and how do they look so pulled together?

In light of this new ultra cool mommy movement, I am going to have to rethink my own approach.  Seriously, I have no style.  How can I compete?  I basically pick up random clothing wherever I might be at the moment. Usually it is somewhere like WalMart, Costco or JC Penny.  Hey, if it is semi-cute, under $10, and within an arm’s length– it’s mine!

I just don’t have time to be picky anymore.  Have you tried wardrobe shopping with two small boys?  It can’t be done without loosing your sanity.  The upside of this strategy is that when the inevitable happens, meaning when one of my children pukes on me, I’m not all that upset about it.  Just toss the shirt out and go.

In short, I can offer no explanation for the fabulous mom phenomenon.  Personally, I think they are all just faking it. That is what I’ve decided to believe.  It makes me feel better, anyway.

Tags: beautiful, celebrity, cool, designer, fabulous, hip, Mommy Mania, motherhood, PTA, puke, Really Random

Totally busted my little guy in a fib tonight.

He was in a panic because he needed to read four books tonight in order to earn a free ticket to a Frederick Key’s baseball game.  Well, he waited until the last minute, as usual.  So I sent him in the other room to pick and read his books.

About 40 minutes later he comes back and hands me the books he read.  For one thing – they are all WAY BELOW his reading level.  We are talking “I Love Cats” here.  He is in second grade.

And secondly, well, you tell me:

If you are wondering… lets just say, the book is written entirely in GERMAN.

He eight.  He is not bilingual.

SO BUSTED!

Tags: baseball, Books, busted, Kid Mania, lying, reading