Skipping The Kindergarten.

...So, I wonder what he thinks about the second grade and on!

Holding It In.

Last night my kid did a number on me.
Well, I suppose that's normal...but last night it was different.

It all started when I took his paper airplane away from him because it was distracting him from putting on his seat belt. Seriously, who wants to sit in the parking lot for 15 minutes while their kid puts on his seat belt?
He cried.

Then in route to meeting up with his little friend and her dad, he decided he wanted a hug. No, to be exact, he wanted me to stop the car in rush hour traffic - while driving in the left lane on the beltway - and get out and give him a hug. I wouldn't do it...you know safety reasons.
He cried.

Then it was at Barnes & Nobles. He wanted to take home 20 packaged Thomas the Tank trains. No, seriously. If you know my kid you know he has over 50 Thomas the Tank trains, etc. It wasn't enough that he was spending time with one of his friends on a play date and during the week at that.
He pouted and cried.

The finale - when we were being seated at the restaurant. He wanted to sit next to his little friend. The friends dad wanted them to sit across from each other to make sure they would eat their dinner and not play. I totally got that. My sons friend got it,  but my kid didn't.
He pouted and cried.

Inside, each time, I think my patience and mental capacity just depleted.
All I could think is: 
Why. 
Why me? 
Why now? 
Whose kid is this? 
And, what happened during the day for my kid to be like this?

The other part of me was thinking, if he doesn't cut it out there is going to be trouble!
I even thought about just dropping him off at someones house - my cousins or moms, ringing the bell and running and leaving him there - even if I had to tie him up to the porch furniture. Yes, I went there!

My last thought was too go home and make a martini. Okay, so I just found a new martini recipe - I thought it would mellow me out.

The night ended quietly.
The kid went off to bed with no problems. I suppose all that crying and the tantrums wore him out.
I on the other hand never made that martini. I was just too drained to mix and shake anything.

How do you as a parent cope with the meltdowns and a whiny kid? What's your breaking point?

---To Follow Up---
This morning I landed on "MOTHERHOOD: THE BIG, FAT FUCK YOU" an article by Lisa Morguess on the Scary Mommy blog. You can read it here. It's worth a read.

The comments are worth a read too. One comment that stuck out was:

"Ya know what kills me? That moms feel like they must apologize for losing it. That moms should be thankful and and feel totally fulfilled by motherhood every day of their bloody lives. Who made this crap up? Motherhood, like everything else, is full of trials and tribulations, and sometimes sucks and is sometimes joyful, and is another aspect of being a human being, and human being are imperfect even when we are trying our best. And we should not judge another mom who yells at her kids when she’s had enough of their lack of cooperation and concern for others! Sometimes that is the only time kids actually hear us and hopefully they learn something…."
-Melon

In memory of my cousin who lost his battle with cancer this morning.

God our Father,
Your power brings us to birth,
Your providence guides our lives,
and by Your command we return to dust.

Lord, those who die still live in Your presence,
their lives change but do not end.
I pray in hope for my family,
relatives and friends,
and for all the dead known to You alone.

In company with Christ,
Who died and now lives,
may they rejoice in Your kingdom,
where all our tears are wiped away.
Unite us together again in one family,
to sing Your praise forever and ever.

Amen.

/Source/

39.

Today marks my 39th birthday.
I am thankful, blessed and truly grateful for all HE has done.


I'm also thankful that a friend had to remind me of this...lol.

Where

...do we go from here.

The Zimmerman verdict vibrated beyond Florida.

Source: Mario Tama/Getty Images via NPR

~*~

Prayers to the Martin family.

Prayers to any family that has lost a child to senseless violence.

Prayers to the children of the future.

Wordless Wednesday - Superhero Push-ups.

"Superhero push-ups minus two."

A Wordless Wednesday Post.

Learn more about Wordless Wednesday here.

Life.

so enjoy the ride!

As of late: 

+ we've attended 5 kiddie parties in less than 2 weeks

+ i've seen more paint chips than I've ever imagined

+ i have enjoyed Maryland's finest...crabs

+ i'm loving antique shopping

+ i'm loving zoobean

+ i have been daydreaming about the beach and owning a hibiscus floral rash guard

Thankful and Blessed [HMD]

joyful smile

silly laughter

heartfelt kisses

intriguing conversationalist

extraordinary talker

my teacher

amazing joy

ultimate sacrifice

undeniable love

a gift from GOD

lifes BIG blessing

I am THANKFUL and BLESSED to be called his MOTHER.

Happy Mothers Day to all mothers near and above, 
and to the parental units who are in that role.

Pictures.

Below, pictures we didn't take before we had digital cameras. I'd have to totally agree! What about you?

1/2

++++

What sorts of things do you find yourself taking pictures of?

1. The talented Angela Liao of twenty pixels 

2. Mashable 

Be.

Love this...

via Geekie

Connecticut.

little ones...

you are loved

you are special

you are magnificent

you are the sun that shines bright in our eyes

your memory lives on.

image via Facebook

As a parent it has been extremely hard for me to discuss the recent Connecticut tragedy. 

My prayers are with the family's who lost a loved one.

A few things...

Star Wars according to a 3 year old...

On Parenting...

and Lastly,

Hope you all are enjoying your week to the fullest!

Lately.

Lately I've been... 

1. Coding my ars' off,
2. Evolving a key,
3. Planning a party for 25 kids, ages 2-7,
4. Loving life,
5. Reorganizing my house,
6. Enjoying my new crock pot,
7. Reading "Indexed", by Jessica Hagy,
8. Designing birthday invites for a special girl,
9. Jet lagged and motherhood lagged,
10. Loving that my son wants to sing and share songs learned on Chapel Day @ School and remembering how my cousins and I used to sing the same exact songs,
11. Thankful for hello's, I miss you's, & honesty,
12. Super psyched about being a soccer mom, and
13. Co-branding a brand (what! yep, i dunno either)

+++

So tell me, what's been eating at your schedule? 

{..........}

>>>>Wordless Wednesday <<<<

Bequests.

E and Pop-Pop enjoying the day.

There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings. 

 ~Hodding Carter, Jr.

----

Here's hoping you enjoyed the weekend and Father's Day (whether far, near, or in remembrance).

Bounded By Language.

Illustration by Ellie Anglin

Language contains great power for humans;
It shapes societies, creates laws and norms.
Builds skyscrapers and
fills the pages of novels.
But,
when language is abused, it can morally destroy the soul.

“That speech was gay” she said to her friend.
“You should really watch the words you choose.
That person may not appreciate the message you send.”
said the smart man in reply.

She found out later the reason why.
Take a word that is embraced by many
and twist it into a snarling enemy,
watch yourself in the mirror as the tie of
Ronald Regan chokes the sense from your thoughts
and blurs all sense of reality.

-Emily Holmes, November 23, 2011

++++++++++++++++++++++++
How are you bounded by language?

Source: Blueprint Magazine

Two Loves Outside of Design.

My dad & my son (... apparently, I didn't get the uniform memo)

...grandpop and my lil monster

Grandpop (my dad) because he's always been super supportive and easy to talk too.

My lil monster because even though a little rowdy handful at times and not a good listener, his extremely inquisitive nature and those beautiful brown eyes make me fall in love all over again.

I am truly blessed.

This post is a part of the "Wordful Wednesday" with parenting BY dummies. It's like Wordless Wednesday, but with words, you dig? Hope on over to join the fun.

Electronic Reading

[KERI WIGINTON | Tampa Bay Times]

Mom: Hey, are you still reading to E at night?
Me: I really haven't been consistent with reading at night since we moved, but I did vow to start back up this week. (at the time of this post, we moved a month ago)
Me: Why, ask?
Mom: Oh, I could tell you hadn't been reading to him. Whenever he comes to the house he just wants to play on the computer, IPad, or watch videos.
Me: (Silent chuckle) Really, you're funny?

{That was a conversation between me and my mom on the phone last week.}

Now folks, if any of you actually knew my mom you'd laugh too. And for the people that know her please feel free to laugh - I wont tell. Let's start with the top 5 reasons why 'E' probably hasn't read at my mom's house in the past month.

1. the IPod or IPad. Let's just say that my dad has an Ipod and Ipad, none of which I own or will probably ever own.  My dad has taken the liberty to install, Angry Birds, waste paper, and a host of other games on these two gadgets. Let's just say I didn't know who an angry bird was until I was in Barnes & Noble and my son ran up to an Angry Birds merchandising table - dead serious.

2. the 'Kids Room'. There's an entire room dedicated to kids at my parents house. In this room there's a play table, toys, a couch, an area for movie watching (even old school VHS videos) and a entire assortment of videos for the picking! Oh and at this point 'E' is very fluent in changing the DVD player and putting
on his own movies? Can he do this at his mom's house? Nope!

3. the 'Computer Room'. Need I say more?

4. Errands/restaurants. Okay, so not that I don't think the kid should get out but, this kid is aware of more stores and restaurants than his mother. How do I know this, well he tells me. Either via conversation or during commutes, there's often this, "Hey Mom! There's so and so store!"

5. the 'Kindle Fire'. Last, as if all of the above weren't enough, there's the kindle fire. Huh, what's this? I mean I've overheard the commercials but I really don't pay attention. Why? Because I don't want too. I have a hard enough time figuring out what sort of phone to upgrade too. Anyway, so When I questioned why this was purchased for the child the response I got was..."Oh, well he can put books on this, play games, and he can take it on trips. HOLD IT - Did my mom just suggest 'E' could play games on this gadget? Yep! I also noticed how she tried to clean-up the conversation by saying, "he could take it on trips."

Interesting right? Not at all...it's not rocket science why my son hasn't been wanting to read at their house - at least to me it's not.

Now the question I am going to pose to my mom this week is, "Hey so could you really tell me why 'E' doesn't read much when he comes to your house?"


+++++++++++++++Questions+++++
So what's your child reading these days?
How do you implement reading to your child as a part of your daily routine?
What are your feelings towards all of the electronic media available to young and older children today - are we in trouble?

A REVIEW

2011 was very much an interesting year. Last year was a year of patience, growth and readjusting my OCDness.  Here’s a wrap up of our year - food, theater, entertainment, home, etc., in no particular order of course:

1. Numerous visits to Friendly’s Restaurant (who doesn't like a happy ending Sunday)
2. The Big Bad Wolf
3. Adele 21
4. Bowling
5. Lingering along the beach
6. The Lion King
7. The Michael Jackson Experience – hours of laughter
8. Family Reunion
9. Bridesmaids Movie
10. KoKo’s Crab cakes
11. Water For Elephants Movie
12. 1^st Semester of school – 4.0 ending.
13. 16 kiddie parties
14. Home sewn garland and decorations for a special boy’s bday
15. D.I.Y Holiday mantle(s)
16. Invites, invitations, and more...
17. “Channeled my Betty Crocker”: triple chocolate cake, chicken lasagna, corn pudding, homemade chocolate chip cookies, lemon butter frosting and lemon cupcakes, etc.
18. The Aquarium
19. Early morning day-trips to the Beach
20. The Foreign Exchange
21. The Baltimore Zoo
22. Hours of being forced to watch my kid play his guitar and sing to the Fresh Beat Band or me being forced to play the drums while my kid plays his guitar, recorder, and xylophone all at once (I'm still figuring this one out).
23. Storied In Hue
24. Elmo Live
25. 4 adult parties (I need to up my numbers here!)
26. Plumpton Park Zoo
27. National Zoo
28. Parks & Festivals (I've seen way too many portable potties in 2011)
29. Numerous very early morning trips to the Library 
30. Holiday Train Garden
31. B.R.Y

And now as the first week of 2012 has come to an end and the second week starts, I am looking forward to new possibilities. I am encourage by past dilemmas, am hopeful and pray for a blessed and prosperous 2012.

This post is a part of the Six Word's Friday weekly with Melissa Camara Wilkins. #sixwordsfriday. The

topic this week "LOOKING FORWARD".

Music Boosts.

Music is my religion. 

~Jimi Hendrix

"Shake Heaven" Victory World Music feat. Montell Jordan and Beckah Shae

Long nights, early mornings to get to the end of the semester and days when I just need strength...listening to "Shake Heaven" is my cup of tea and has grown to be on the top of my playlist!

++++

What songs help get you through the day or tough moments?