Mom or Maid

      Another day, another diaper. My son is 16 months old and I am already wanting to say good bye to diapers for good. Why is it that as soon as I change him he decides to poop? Is there something about a clean diaper that brings on babies bowel movements? I think there must be some link. Actually, I think anything clean calls out to a child to destroy it. I was thinking the other day that I feel like a maid. I am sure as a mom you know what I mean. You finish cleaning up one mess just to turn around to a new one. And no, it's not just your children. This includes pets and husbands as well. Let's look at my day and see if I was more Mom or Maid. I wake up to a dirty diaper, but also to hugs and kisses, so we're even. Then it is time for breakfast, only to find that the dog got sick last night, and of course didn't miss the toys. Okay, I can handle this, make scrambled eggs so my son will be in his high chair while I conquer the throw up. I think I'll skip breakfast today. Now it’s time to start laundry, I think my Maid side is pulling ahead. Once the laundry is in we need to clear all the toys from the floor so we can vacuum. And yes I did say WE. My son is my little helper and will usually put toys away with me once he sees what I am doing.He love to do what mommy is doing, so if I clean he is happy to join in, not that it is always helpful, but it sure is adorable. I even bought him a little vacuum so he can help Mommy with that too. I figure this way I get to be Maid and Mom at the same time! Now that the house is looking presentable we go out for an activity, park, zoo, whatever we feel like. Okay, whatever I feel like since my son's vocabulary is still limited to simple works like Mom,Dog,Dad, Juice, Cheese, etc. We get home in time to have lunch and then of course clean up the mess we just made. Now it is time to get the clothes in the dryer and un -load the dishwasher I forgot I had run last night. Now it is nap time for my little man which turns me into full Maid mode. I dust, make the bed, fold and put away laundry, wipe down counters and clean floors. I hop on Facebook just as I hear my man wake up. No time to gossip. Now my goal is to have dinner ready, or at least on the way to ready, by the time Daddy gets home. This is more of a Mom activity than Maid at least. I set my son up with some pots and pans and start dinner. Dinner is a success, even my little man eats more than he puts on the floor, which means it was delicious! Now it is time to play, I need to make up for all the mommy time I missed while I was cleaning. By the time we are getting ready for bedtime, not to my surprise, the house is a mess. There are dishes in the sink, toys everywhere, and my son put something from his dinner all over the couch cushion. That's alright. I still consider the day a success, the house was clean for a period of time and we had fun. So I guess that shows I am more Mom than Maid, because if I was more Maid I wouldn't have this mess to look at once my day is over. But isn't that best? We all need to play Maid, well a lot, but Mom is the most important of our jobs.

Kelly Callahan

Time to get Healthy... Maybe

Okay,first off I am a little ticked off that they no longer have the "font" I like to use to write for my blog. I somehow feel the quality of my writing is somehow linked to how pretty it looks, so if you don't like this entry just blame it on the font :)

Now, time to get healthy, easier said than done. I think I can now say that it is even harder to eat healthy when you have a young child. I woke up this morning with my new plan, eat healthy, NO SNACKING. How did that go for me? Well let's take a look and see.

My day started at 7:30am when my alarm went off, lovely. So far so good, I start my day with a vanilla chai protein drink. I am under the impression that this is good for me because their label is very convincing. I fall for labels, and since I know that about myself, I now try to read a little more than just what they claim on the front of the container. Turns out they can REALLY stretch the truth without technically "lying" to the consumer, aka ME. So after my hopefully healthy breakfast drink I get my son dressed and make him some french toast. The amazing thing? I didn't even sneak a taste. This is a big thing for me, I think a lot of the times I fail at my "healthy" kick because I am tempted by something my son is eating; actually I think in more cases I am tempted by what my husband is eating, or by something he had me buy for him at the store. If not for my husband's requests I would not have any true "junk" food in my kitchen. Okay maybe I would buy the occasional fudgesicle or something from the ice cream isle, but I would be surrounded by a lot less temptation, I KNOW that. I try and make sure the snacks I give my son are healthy, but that doesn't mean I need to snack whenever he does, he needs to be growing, I don't! Now we are off to work, this part is easy, I am too busy running around their house {chasing my son, their daughter sits and plays quietly} making sure things don't break, including anything on my little man who now loves to somersault off couches....he's nuts. I feed the kids a lunch that is in no way tempting to me, hot dogs and rice... I'll pass. I have my salad with turkey and tomatoes as planned, I even use a fat free dressing. {once again I think this is somewhat healthy due to the great marketing}I have water to drink. I always hear people say if you want to be healthier fast to just stop drinking soda and juice....well I only drink water, and maybe the occasional iced tea, so this plan won't do a thing for me. I guess I don't get an easy shortcut to feeling healthy. If only my mother had hooked me on soda at a young age so I could quit it now and drop a couple of pounds, thanks Mom. Both kids are now getting fussy and I am just hoping that my employers are home on time so we don't have a total melt down before I leave. They're home, we're good. {Did I mention they were getting home from an ultrasound looking at TWINS, so in oh about 7 months I will be watching two toddlers and two infants...we'll talk about that another day} Now we are headed home and I know my healthy day could be thrown out the window once we get there. I put little man down for a nap and as always I am hungry, I wish I wasn't but I am. So I decide to keep up the good work and I eat two kiwi's. But then it happens... my husband gets home, and what does he do first? He goes to the kitchen and makes chips and queso...ahh I love that stuff but I do well and stay away. Now for dinner, we have beef and broccoli with rice and egg rolls. I think I eat a "smart" portion and am feeling great about my day. But sadly the day isn't over, and now I am bored and so is my little guy. A trick with my little man is if I am busy with something that he can "help" with then he is happy. So what do I decide to do? Make cookies, I know, I know, I was doing so well and now I'm making cookies??? But I decide on Oatmeal Raisin so that's a little better right? And since they are homemade they won't have any extra junk that I don't even know about that is bad for me. I was a little mad at myself at my idea but as soon as my son was stirring his pretend bowl of dough and SO happy about it, I was happy to have the extra calories! Another battle, should I try the batter? Well I better just try a little to make sure it tastes right, what if I accidentally put in salt instead of sugar? It would be silly to bake a batch of cookies that won't taste good,right? So now I can add cookie dough to my list of foods for the day...ooops. Now the cookies are done and I wouldn't want my son eating his cookie all by himself, so as the good mother I am, I join him. They were SOOO good. I figure I can blame my cookie downfall on being a mother. Once again I am not complaining about being a mother, just that it ruins my "perfect" eating days. But there is always tomorrow, and if I can at least stay away from the cookies until bedtime I will be proud of myself.{baby steps} And if I ever get myself to the gym I could maybe focus a little less on what I eat. On the other hand going to the gym might be a bad thing... then I'll think I can eat whatever I want since I worked out.I am sure it would still be healthier to work out, I just need more will power to stop me from eating too much after a great workout. I know eventually I will start working out and eating right, but I guess today was not the day to start that lifestyle. Better luck next time Kelly.

Kelly Callahan

Coupon Lady

               One struggle I see many Mom's run into is that they feel that they are not contributing enough, usually this is in financial terms, to the family. This is a tough subject, it can be so different in so many cases. Personally my main concern is my son, everything I do is somehow related to his well being. I don't want to miss a single word or jump and some people may call me crazy since I hardly ever am away from my son, and if I am away from him it isn't for long and very few make my list ( okay just two, my parents and my husband). So how do I feel as though I make a difference while making my whole life revolve around a 16 month old? Since the last time I checked I don't make any money for walking around the zoo or finger painting.Okay, okay, I do have a job, but it is part time, and as my husband loves to remind me I don't make much money. Well, he's right, I don't make much, but I only work three days a week and my little man comes with me. I am a nanny, so for three days every week I feel like I have twins, I think it's great, I get to be with my son and make a little money while he gets some social interaction{and he makes a mess at someone else's house three days a week,not that it seems to make my place feel cleaner...hmmm...}. Since my income doesn't go too far I decided I would become a crazy coupon lady. True, I may be a bit young to be pulling out my stack of coupons at Walgreen's by many peoples standards, but that won't stop me. I am sure not as "crazy" as I want to be yet ( and sadly in the state of Colorado stores limit the amount of items you can buy with coupons in one trip, ie: If I find a coupon for free Pasta, and have ten of the same coupon, I can only use three of my coupons in one shopping trip. I can always come right back and get three more free boxes, but they know most people won't. I don't understand why they HAVE to limit my trips, they get money back from the manufacturers for their coupons, and they put the items on sale...geez) Other than not being able to live up to the "crazies" I saw on TLC, things have been going well, by combining online coupons, store sales, and manufacturers coupons I have been saving an average of 45% on my weekly grocery bill. I have also been scoring plenty of free stuff, like toothpaste,pasta, diapers,hot sauce, soap, and body wash. I know it isn't a whole lot of money, but an extra 50 to 70 dollars a week never hurt the family budget. I figure the longer I do it the better I will get, I am hoping to be able to save even more, it's very empowering somehow to come in with arms full of groceries and know I got it for half price.{even if I did have to carry it all up three flights of stairs before I could show it off to my husband, who is never as impressed as I would like, know that I think about it}And it is never bad for a Mom to have something to look forward to on a Sunday, in my case the Sunday paper starts my excitement, as I look through all the coupons and start to plan my weekly shopping trip. And as soon as my little man is down for his nap and Daddy is watching the game, I am off  to have my fun.{Yes, I said fun, you get a little rush when you see your total climbing higher and higher, really hoping you planned it all right, and then as the total goes down you feel the excitement!} Do I make people mad as I look through my coupons in the isle to see which pasta sauce I will buy? Yes. Do the cashiers run when they see me coming with my stack of coupons? Yes. Is it all worth it? Yes. I don't really see a reason for people not using coupons, it is free money right there in the Sunday paper, or even as simple as loading coupons to a shoppers card online. And if you think it won't save you money, just try it for a week, even if you don't use many coupons your first time around, I am willing to bet you'll be more aware of what you are buying and what is on sale. Another way to save money on your grocery bill? Go without your children! I do EVERYTHING with my son, but my one trip I do alone is the grocery store. This way I actually buy what is on my list, preventing multiple trips back to the store all week, which always cost more than planned. So if you want to feel like you are "giving" a little extra to the family funds try couponing, who cares if you get some "you're nuts" looks, they're the crazy ones for paying full price! Good luck on your next shopping adventure, I know I will be looking forward to my next Sunday set of coupons!

Kelly Callahan

"The Glare"

            Okay all you Mom's out there, sit down, take a breath, and relax. This week we are going to talk about the "glare". If you have been out in public with your child I am sure you know what I am talking about. We all know when it happens, we feel it, like a hot spotlight shining down on us. I look over, and sure enough the couple next to us has planned on a romantic dinner out at the local Olive Garden. As my crazy little man throws his pasta every which way and pours water on my lap, they just keep staring. Do they think if they look long enough I will say the magic words to make my 16 month old calm down for a quiet dinner out? If I had the magic words, or a magic button, or any tricks up my sleeve, trust me I would be using them. First off, I know this couple does not have children, and at this point I am starting to think they may have never been children themselves. As they ask the waiter if there is another table I feel myself getting angry, it's a restaurant, an Olive Garden. They are acting as if I have brought my child to a fancy Steakhouse and am letting him run free. For us this dinner is going quite well, if he is sitting down and getting some food in his mouth we are having an "easy" night. If they only knew what a "bad" night out looked like, I think they'd run for the door.  I wish little miss snooty over there knew how long it took us to get here, how many laps around the house before the shoes were on, how many toys moved to find the car keys, things only a mother could appreciate. She sits and glares at me taking for granted her freedom at this point, she could take her time, sip a glass of wine, and even catch a movie later if she wanted. None of these things are on my list, if I do get to have a glass of wine, it will most likely be gulped down before we have to leave with our pre-meltdown child, and catching a flick is more like a trip to Blockbuster. Not that I am complaining, I love being a mother and wouldn't change it for the world, I just wish other people could know a little more about a situation before glaring at someone for 45 minutes. I enjoyed my meal, what was left of it after my son was finished smashing my meatballs and giving himself a marinara facial, and I am sure even with my son insisting on watching "BOB BOB" all through dinner, I had a better conversation with my husband than she did, since she was too "upset" with the table next to her to speak. So for all of you Mom's out there who get the "glare" just remind yourself that you are not doing anything wrong, you are a good mother, and whoever is delivering said glare has no idea what parenting is. And for all you "glarers" out there; not that you would be reading an article for Mothers, please cut us mom's some slack, we do our best, children are little grown ups trapped inside little bodies with no censors. That's why they need there mother's, to teach them to censor their words and actions, also known as manners. This doesn't happen over night, and as the lovely lady at Olive Garden found out, it sure doesn't happen in 45 minutes.

Kelly Callahan