See ya!
This Mom’s Strange Habits
Jul
16
Singing for no apparent reason.
Making up new words to other people’s songs. 
Talking to myself…and answering myself.
Checking to “be sure” the oven and stove are turned off.
Stopping by my “in box” to see if anyone e-mailed me. (To avoid doing something that really needs to get done.)
Dancing for no apparent reason.
What’s with that photo on the right?
Being shocked and appalled every time I find that no one else will replace the toilet paper roles.
Daily asking my teens – “Did you put on deodorant?” (I remember when they were tweens and they forgot – ugh!)
Shoving things to the back of the fridge when I know good and well I am the only one who’s ever going to deal with it, so why not just do it already!
Re-arranging all the furniture in the house…again!
Allowing the mail to stack up to a dangerously high level and wanting desperately to just throw it all away and pretend it doesn’t exist.
Making no audible noise whatsoever when I laugh…except that occasional snort.
Refusing to empty the trash no matter how bad it gets – that is ONE JOB I will not break down and do … ever.
Thinking that a cat truly has life figured out.
Trying to “will” my eyes not to fail me…I have never had glasses and do not want to start wearing them now!
Daydreaming about the amazing novel I just know I could write…but not actually typing out my thoughts.
Biting the side of my mouth and then getting mad at myself for biting the side of my mouth.
Washing dishes with paper towels and throwing them away because the thought of germs lurking in sponges and dishrags freaks me out.
Using words in my daily vocabulary that my children tell me do not exist.
Drying my hair just outside my bathroom door so the hair falls on the carpet and I don’t have to see it, like I would see it when it lands on my tile bathroom floor.
Always having to make my bed…or my whole bedroom seems like it’s a mess – even if it is a mess! (Besides the bed being made.)
Closing my eyes when I use dental floss because it sort of grosses me out for some reason.
Each common set of utensils goes in their own cubby hole in my dishwasher so when I empty it I just grab all the spoons at once and bam in the drawer, all the forks at once and bam, all the knives…you get the idea!
My ability to read more than one book at once – and picking up the one I’m in the mood for.
I do not ever mind being outside in hot weather – even in the 100′s, but I absolutely do not like being out in really cold weather.
Writing a post that lists “just a few” of my strange habits…and thinking it’s worth reading to anyone else!?
Teen Wisdom
Jun
3
Yesterday I was having one of those deep and meaningful conversations with my teen daughter … OK we were having words because we were not seeing eye to eye on something … OK we were having an argument.
Going through teenlife is a whole new mind bending experience when you are sitting on the other side of it as a mom. I have heard it said that the older a child gets the harder it is to parent. Now that I have made it through the baby years, the toddler years, the elementary years and even the very challenging tween years I am here to confirm the notion that older makes it harder. 
Back to our discussion…um yeah, right…argument. As I was making my point (and an excellent one at that) I said, “Sometimes you really make me wonder about my parenting skills.”
To which my daughter replied, “Mom, what I do now has nothing to do with your parenting skills, it has to do with me making my own decisions.”
She literally shut me up with that statement.
I stopped, pondered and said, “Wow, you have just given me a bit of an epiphany moment – I’m gonna have to think about that one.”
See what I mean about parenting teens, how do you argue with that? They use those sharp little minds to make points that you really cannot argue…they have this sneaky little way of teaching YOU something.
The thing you must not lose sight of here, is you have to earn the right to speak into, or argue into, the life of a teen. Through the discussions, arguments, they learn to reason and know what they think and how to express themselves.
Allow me to remind you moms, if you take the time to pour into the lives of your children and grow in relationship with them from the time they are very young, you too can have discussions …. arguments, with your teens that will keenly illuminate the love and reason you have been pouring into them throughout the years.
Momlife lived well leads to a teenlife you can be an integral part of…and yes, learn from.
Hubby Noticed Shred Results!
May
25
I am writing this post because I was asked to…by my husband. You see, he said something that I turned all around that left him standing, staring and asking, “What am I supposed to say to that?”
The scene is as follows: I’m in the laundry room, bending over throwing clothes into the dryer, he walks by, slaps me on the backside and declares, “Whoa that’s a skinny little shredded bottom!” To which I say, “Oh great, what did it used to be?”
Yeah, that would be the moment he stood, stared and said, “What am I supposed to say to that? You know, husbands just can’t win, even when we think we are saying something nice, it gets turned around!” Then he shook his head and walked into the bedroom laughing. I was laughing too and agreeing that my comment was off base and then wondered why it flew out of my mouth, even if it was in jest, why was it on the tip of my tongue?
For 33 days I have been doing Jillian Michaels 30 day shred and even I know I have been shrinking. Why should I be surprised that hubby would notice and why would I take a compliment and turn it around? Because I think all women are sensitive to their weight and appearance.
I am not getting my butt kicked (and thinned) daily just because I want to look good – I am doing it because I want to be healthy and live a long active life. Hubby’s comment seemed to narrow all that hard work down to appearance only and that made me get a bit bowed up and defensive. Which is wrong of me, if there’s less junk in my trunk and hubby noticed I need to just appreciate that he noticed! No ulterior motives here, just a simple compliment.
Is he right – is this something we all do? Do you get defensive if hubby mentions something about your appearance, even when it is in the form of a compliment?
Maybe you are better about this than I am – maybe I am just messed up in this area and need to work on it! Do you look around, behind and through a compliment when hubby gives you one, or do you just accept it and say thanks?
This little laundry room exchange pointed out to me that hubby should not have to “think twice” before handing out a compliment, or in the future he may choose to keep his mouth shut.
What You’re Saying