How does Angie do it?

Seriously, how do you get the kids to get along, pottytrain, look amazingly beautiful (well, that would be genes..), keep a serene look on your face and gaze lovingly at your significant other, and she has 6 kids?? I have 2 and hubby is really lucky if I smile a little more than usual. I use my power of positivity, my affirmations, and still cannot keep it together sometimes. Is my identity so wrapped up in the "mommy" that I forget about the rest of me? I am serious though, like, do her kids scream and punch each other as she and Brad are walking out the door to a red-carpet thang, or do they wave and smile and hold each other's hands tightly? Is there fighting over who gets to be blue while playing Candyland? Do they watch Wall-E every single day? Is there screaming kids and children who refuse to go to time-out? Does the momma yell? Oh yes, and hubby swears that she must wear very sexy lingerie-pajamas-whatever for Brad! Really? With kids jumping in and out of the bed through the night?

ok, enough about that. I have vented for the day. I certainly am not as beautiful as a movie star, but I'm sure my day is not all that out of the ordinary for a regular ol' momma either.
But really, don't you want to know?

crouching momma, screaming child

How is that the sweetest little baby girl has turned into, um, a monster? Is it a fight for independance? Am I unrealistic with my expectations? I really don't know what to do sometimes. She acts up, I count, if I get to 3 it's time out you go. She will scream and fight her way there, saying she doesn't love me, blah blah blah. I try to remain calm, you know, let her know I'm in charge, she can't ruffle my feathers. Then it happens - my feathers get tousled and turned. I scream, I lose myself. AAAHH! It is in those moments that I feel low. Seriously, if hubby did something disrespectful or talked back in a nasty tone, would I yell and smack his bottom? No, I just think to myself "idiot" and usually try to redirect. Lovingly.

I read something recently in a parenting book, about how we are not responsible FOR our kids, but TO them. In other words we are responsible to teach and guide. It is up to us to teach them to think for themselves and make their decisions for action on their own. Now I know at 4 years old I am still dealing with tantrums and sleep issues( to nap or not to nap, that IS the question!) and just a general nonunderstanding of many things in her world, but, could it be possible that a gentler momma could help her not feel that she needs to fight it out all the time?

I get that I am not their "friend", but their parent. I understand my place, but how to go about it sometimes frustrates me to no end! How come when we go somewhere, like the chiropractors office, and I explain the rule -"respect this place, no running around, no screaming...."- why on this great green earth do they do just that? I was not supposed to be the frazzled, yelling, uptight momma. I was supposed to be the cool, hip( and very cute ) momma who smiles all the time and whose kids actually listened.
Seriously, don't laugh, a woman can dream.

snow day fun this past week

the facebook thang

So I did the facebook thing, and for my dear grandmothers who might not know, it is a website that people post their info- names, schools attended, towns lived in, to network and keep in touch with friends from high school, college, things like that. So weird it is!! Like, do you really want to know what your ex-boyfriend is up to?? I don't. Not that I don't care or anything,wish the very best for them, but, don't really want to "keep in touch". Or, maybe, the old friends that you had a falling out with, or, just let time slip away without keeping in touch? How do you approach that? Do you just skulk around reading their profiles (if they are not privacy locked), not letting them know you are a complete stalker in the making, OR do you just jump right in there? So very high-school-drama isn't it? And then there is my teenage brother, who I'm pretty sure is not on that website, but I don't think he would want me to know about his party-friends-and-other-goings-on. I know that when I was 18 years old I didn't want to share all that with some old-34-year-old-woman!

Until I figure out the proper etiquette for facebook use, I will continue to pretend that I don't silently look out for those old friends and I sware I won't tell the mothers of the teenage nieces and nephews that have befriended me of the beer drinking and partying pics.
For now.....

sleep and other dreams of mommahood

ok, so my kids got up at 4:30am this morning. I am smiling, really I am. I had my coffee, my protein shake and I'm trying to do my online blog reading now so I can enjoy the rest of the day with them. The weather looks a little warmer than it has been, so I am hoping to get them outside and running around.

I just wonder, does anyone else's kids get up so freakin' early? seriously. They go to bed at 8pm. They sleep through the night, although, they sometimes end up in our bed at some point through the night, but they must tiptoe in and slide under the covers, because hubby & I wake up and they are just, well, there. Being the ever-overanalyzing-momma I wonder - what the heck am I doing wrong? Is this normal? I miss my 8 hour of sleep nights, and I did have them even after the kids were born! Is it too much tv during the day? Should I run them like dogs outside even on the coldest days? AAAHHH!!

I know, shut up! Be happy they are healthy and happy (most of the time!) and hubby and I seem to be getting a handle on their tantrums and attitude problems that seem to be arising lately. As for my tantrums and attitude problems, well, I have earned them a little bit, don't ya think???

bread update

so my last I went on and on about our bread making day. Here's some pics. It was a denser bread due to the whole wheat flour, but a few days later I made french toast with it and it was awesome!! (at least, I thought so, and being the momma, that's the opinion that matters, right?)

the kids waiting patiently outside the oven door....

freshly sliced bread....(yeah, momma's a little proud of herself now!)

yummy!!!

snowy day baking fun

Very cold and snowy here today in NJ. Not in the mood to pack the kids up in the car to go work out at the gym, I'll just do it later this afternoon at home. So, as I love love love to bake, I decided to try my hand at bread - cinnamon raisin bread to be exact. I replaced 1/2 the flour with whole wheat so I didn't feel to badly about it, and right now it is on the second rising. After this, on to bake in the oven. It already smells so good! The kids really got into the kneading and rolling into loaves, so they are very excited to see the final result. (pics for the next post!!)

I am *hoping* that with Sarah really enjoying the baking and anticipation of the results of her labor, that soon she will enjoy the other cooking a little more( more so to enjoy more food, especially more nutritious foods! ) She is very difficult with not ever wanting to try something new, nothing with any sort of sauce or topping, and with her dairy allergy, it makes it difficult anyway. Lately, if she refuses to eat dinner, I have just been telling her that she is welcome to eat a banana, which she promptly refuses. So, I figure if she was really that hungry, the banana would be just fine. She's still growing, so I'm thinking missing a few meals here and there wouldn't be so bad for her??

just some notes

Jr has moved to a big boy bed.

My Grandpa (Poppa) is doing better.

Kids are napping.

I will be working out some soon.


Sending love and smiles to all!

small reminders

Smile more
Be thankful
Stop yelling first
Just listen
Enjoy the sound

Kids playing
Hubby time
Stay in touch
Don't overthink

New Year's Wishes

In trying to teach the kids about goals, instead of "resolutions", we made a family list and put it on the fridge, one "wish" or goal for each person. Mine was to work on my scrapbooks more often, Hubby's was to work on his little projects in the garage (he loves to build things). Sarah (4 yrs old) said that she would like to play outside more often, which I think is fantastic!! (her new word for everything now by the way) Jr (2 1/2 yrs old) stated that he would like more cake.

Well, I will just have to comply!!

Happy New Year and Love to all!!