The kids last day of school is today. They get off early and will be home around 2:00pm. So, here is my big question for the Internets: “Is it inappropriate for mommy to drink at 2:15 in the afternoon?”
Cause I am just wondering…. (TeeHeeHee)
School is out this Friday. FIVE. SHORT. DAYS.
I am both thrilled and terrified of this fact because, let’s face it, kids need to be entertained and mommy needs to work a little. It is the ultimate battle: Quality childcare I can afford while juggling a client schedule and not neglecting summer fun. 
Summers traditionally are more hectic for me.
I can’t afford camps all summer long, nor do I want to. I want to play and have fun with the boys while they are still young, but at the same time I have to tackle the work that is expected of me. What is a mom to do?
It is a juggling act to be sure!
So I’ve tried to be creative with my options for this summer. I’m thinking that a mixture of babysitter and me working from home as well as a camp or so might do the trick.
I don’t want to bore them to death while I am working from home either. Anyone have any creative ideas? What do you do to entertain the kids while trying to be productive?
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Yesterday I had the glorious opportunity to chaperone my third grader’s field trip to the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore.
What you need to know before I begin my tale is that I was a field trip virgin. Partly because, as a working mom, I haven’t had much opportunity to accompany my little ones on field trips and partly because my name was never drawn in the classroom lottery.
I was a newbie. A “green” mom. In other words: FRESH MEAT.
My son personally picked his posse of pals for me to accompany. TERRIFIC. I sensed danger from the moment I was handed my list. Thankfully, one of my gaggle of four boys had the flu. I remember looking with pity on the other parent chaperones and thinking, “Woo hoo! Only have three kids. This will be EASY!’
How wrong I was.
First thing I did wrong that day was forget to pack a lunch. In my naivete I thought that I could just stop by the ole snack bar and get myself a little something to take the edge off. Like a coffee. Or a sandwich. Perhaps a muffin?
OH NO.
We went straight to the brown bag area and I ended up mournfully watching my group power down a lunches fit for seven women. We are talking massive amounts of food, people. Only my own offspring offered me some Doritos. Swell. (My son’s teacher did take pity on me and offer me her sandwich, which I declined because I felt like an ass.)
After the feasting it was then time to explore and by that I mean sprint to the nearest exhibit. They were immediately touching this and flicking that and whooping and hollering and just having themselves a merry ole time. I tried to corral them long enough to get them to find the answers to a scavenger hunt that we were SUPPOSED TO FOLLOW. I pretty much gave up on that nonsense in the first 20 minutes. There was no focusing these boys. How was I supposed to find out what the NAME of the Maryland State dinosaur was when I was too busy pulling them OFF OF THE DISPLAY of the Maryland State Dinosaur?
Just a guess, but I am pretty sure you are not supposed to climb up a 20 foot dino display.
You wanna know the exhibits that were of specific fascination to my little hoodlums, I mean, boys? The bed of nails and the blood lab.
Surprised? Yeah, me neither.
I’ll have you know that on the way home, I totally fell asleep. I was EXHAUSTED. Think what you want, jut know that I wasn’t the only parent snoozing away. Every. Single. One. Of. Us. Dozed. Off.
So what did I learn from my little classroom outing? NEXT TIME, ASK FOR A GROUP OF GIRLS.
GUESS WHAT? I’m up for a “Best Parenting Blog” nomination from Nickelodeon’s Parent’s Connect! Won’t you vote for me? Do it here!
Happy Mother’s Day! Today’s guest blogger is.. MY MOM! (Round of applause!)
I grew up in a quaint town in Baltimore County during the fifties and sixties. Since I am the youngest of fourteen children, there is no need to tell you, but YES, I am Catholic. Nuns came for tea and occassionally a Priest would dine with us on Sunday evening.
Since I was the youngest, it was quite lucrative for me to find good hiding places. A place where I was not disturbed by older siblings. EGADS, they drove me nuts!! It was amazing how creative I could be. My favorite place was under the stairs. Behind the coats was the perfect place where I could stowaway a lamp, reading book, pillow and my pencil with sketch pad. Ahh, the absolute serenity there, a place to call my own. (until the others dragged me out for their turn!!)
I was such a dreamer while growing up. I always wanted to star and sing in a Broadway musical. Long ago, in a land faraway, I use to have quite a voice. I hid this, from family and friends, afraid of criticism and being shy about my talents. I once sang a song solo for a Christmas pageant in the second grade. Later, while starting to pursue the stage locally, I saw a side of the theater life that I did not like. The way entertainers lived was so foreign to me, I stopped right then and there. I chose to walk away, never regretting the decision. Many, many years later, a five month bout of a serious illness with constant coughing trashed my vocal cords. But, as they always say, “When God closes a door, he opens a window”, and I picked up my pencil and paint, back to creating my artwork, I was sketching again!! Maybe someday, when I get enough of a portfolio together, I will be discovered!
College was not an option, work immediately after high school graduation was a must. My parents believed in what they called self-teaching. Pick up a book from the library and learn. That was it, plain and simple they would say and boy did I!!! I was an avid reader till my eyes bulged out!!
I married my “best friend” and we raised four children. It was hard. I stayed home. No dishwasher, that is what those little darling’s hands were for. I dried dishes when I was six and so could they. No microwave. Imagine that!! We made it!! We lived tight, but comfortable enough. I always looked at it this way, they lived better than we did while growing up! They rode a school bus, lucky them. And, yes I did walk a full mile to school everyday, but I did have shoes. HA. The children are all grown and we were able to retire in our fifties. Thank God we were so frugal!
Sometimes I would just like to pack our bags, grab my ”best friend” and just hit the road for about three months!! Imagine driving to all the little towns and big cities, meeting new people and making new friends along the way. What a beautiful, free country.
When I look back on my life, I am quite amazed at all that I have experienced, but the truly most profound thing that happened was the day my heart stopped. One day I was driving my car through Frederick City and then suddenly I was in the presence of someone, a “Man”, so loving, so divine. I could not fathom how anyone could be worthy enough to be with him, let alone me. No words have ever been created to describe how humbling it was. I heard him but, no words were needed. Why? I do not know. I knew that I was not to be there. I knew that I was to tell many, including myself, that we are not doing enough to help each other. We are to sacrifice more to others.
My heart started up again on it’s own. I saw a policeman, an ambulance, and many others surrounding me. I later received a pacemaker.
There is one thing I wish to pass onto others, to my children and yours, we need to do more. Don’t look for the “big fixes”…..remember, one person each day doing one more thing to help another.
Tags: Linda Winter, Mother's Day PostAs we all know, Mother’s Day is a few short days away. Oh yes. That day of the year when every mother gets to sit back, relax and be waited on.
Written by my 9 year old!
Except me.
This mamma spends her holiday each year with the matriarchs in her life: Mamma Winter and Mamma Gerlock. Which is always a blast, don’t get me wrong, it is just not uber-relaxing in a Zen kind of way. But it is a nice way to honor the women who have shaped my life. My girlfriend Joy somehow convinced her family to celebrate Mother’s Day a week early so that she could have her own day as well as give her full attention to her mom and mother-in-law without care or resentment. Joy is brilliant. Obviously.
So in honor of Mother’s Day and all it encompasses, I thought I would do a little round up of “mother-like” things in my life.
Some Mamma Stories From My Life
Mammas I Love On The Web
My OTHER Babies (Meaning, projects I have creatively birthed and therefore they are ALSO my children.)
Oh and in case you happen to be my husband or know my husband, this Mommy would love some new running shoes for Mother’s Day. Or, if you are feeling really generous, an iPad. 
