I have a Hemorrhoid

I know this is a lovely topic (and image) to be talking about so close to Christmas but I found I just had to share.

This is in fact my 3rd(!) hemorrhoid ever. (Please feel sorry for me.) The first was after I had my first baby. Like all new mothers, I was constipated, every time I went to the bathroom it felt like I had to go #2. Right? I would sit for hours and nothing would happen.

Well, finally I got out my mirror and saw my little friend. The good news was it was barely noticeable comfort wise and was gone within a day.

My second hemorrhoid experience was last year at this time. I don't remember any significant bathroom habits, I wasn't pregnant, I was simply uncomfortable when sitting and had that familiar feeling that something was still hanging on back there.

I went to the bathroom, again armed w/ my hand mirror, and revealed the culprit. I called my aunt (a nurse) and told her what I saw. She recommended pushing it back in. WTF? I informed her that was not an option.

She then suggested asking my Hubby to help. Did she think I wanted to totally kill my sex life? That was definitely out. I bought some cream and applied a couple times a day.

I was uncomfortable for days this time around. It was the week before Christmas and I was praying it would be gone by the time we traveled to see family. Luckily, it stopped hurting and shrunk about 3 days before we left.

Now for this 3rd time. I'm 6 months pregnant and it's the week before Christmas. After feeling uncomfortable for most of the day, I had the sinking feeling I knew what the problem was.

Sure enough, my hand mirror showed me another visitor.

Like the first one, this one hasn't been too painful and is almost gone which is a good thing because my pregnant belly makes it hard to see anything. I again called my aunt not really for advice but just to marvel at the coincidence that this happened at the same time last year. She again suggested I push it back in.

Now, I'm going to share something that may be TMI, but I think it's important to the story so stop reading right now if you want...

I haven't spent a lot of time researching hemorrhoids because I already know/knew how to take care of them and what causes them, but I am curious as to what they are supposed to look like.

Mine looks like a lima bean so I'm confused as to how I'm supposed to push this thing back in. If it were more like a button or mole I could understand, but this is too oblong and almost flabby.

I really hope this isn't the start of some holiday tradition my body has decided to adopt.

Life Before Kids

I've often thought about things my husband and I didn't do before we had kids. We all have those lists: take a road trip together, travel more, save money, etc.

We visited my sister-in-law and her husband over the summer in Omaha and I was green w/ jealousy most of the time. They live in an apartment in downtown Omaha. They live on the top floor above a bakery. We walked around most of the area which included a farmer's market, numerous shops and restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries, etc. Their apartment also had floor to ceiling windows all around their living/dining room.

The whole time we were there I couldn't help but marvel at the simpleness of their lives and all the options they had to do things. The farmer's market was just a block away! You could hear the night life happening right outside their windows. (Granted some nights it was a little loud, but still it created an awesome atmosphere.)

They had leather furniture, not my taste, but they had the option! With kids that's not exactly the friendliest of fabrics. My sister-in-law is big into home decor (sometimes I don't understand her vision) so there are always a lot of decorative items by the TV or sitting on the bookshelf. Now that it's Christmas time I'm sure their apartment looks like a department store window display.

I couldn't help but be jealous of all they had at their disposal. Not only the variety of venues for food, shopping, and entertainment, but the freedom to do nothing all day if they chose to, to take off on a weekend trip at the last minute, or simply to talk to each other w/o interruptions. Some days I wish I could trade lives w/ them, and others I feel so lucky I have what I do.

Who wouldn't want to spend a weekend in the LBK (Life Before Kids) phase?

Top 6 Reasons Why Harvest Stinks

Hubby and I took the kids back West the end of June so Hubby could help my dad and family w/ wheat harvest. This took about a week, we were there for 5 of those days.

My family has farmed for the last 3 generations. As you can tell from my list, I didn't care for the farm life.

1) Unpredictable schedules - growing up I didn't see my dad much during harvest. He left early in the morning and got home late at night. I'd see him when we took supper to the field.

2) Poor pay - you never know the price of your wheat until you get to the coop to unload. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad. This makes for unhappy workers.

3) The field was dirty - when I was younger it was too hot to wear jeans in the field, but the cut wheat stalks would scratch my legs and my feet would get dirty if I wore sandals.

4) Helping move equipment - when I was old enough to drive, my dad would call and ask me to help he and my brother move to another field. This meant I had to leave the nice air conditioned house and drive 20 minutes on a dirt road trying to find a field I didn't know how to get there (even though I'd been there w/ my mom before). I would then follow my dad, who was driving the combine, w/ his pickkup which was beyond dirty and there was no way to adjust the seat so I had to keep myself propped up by holding on the steering wheel.

5) I had to eat last and help load/clean up - this was probably my least favorite, as I said above it was hot in the field, dirty and itchy. We would take supper late around 7:30 or 8 so I was overly hungry. Sometimes we would have to sit there for awhile before the men came to a stopping point and I wasn't allowed to eat early. It was for the men.

6) Unreliable equipment - things would break down and they would need someone to pick up parts sometimes being an hour away.


When we were home for a week, I helped my mom take supper to the field (my sister-in-law cooked too), my kids rode in the combine, and I listened to my 8 year old niece complain about having to help.

I heard her complain about having to put ice in cups and take drink orders, about having to be out in the heat and how itchy her feet were getting.

I passed on my wisdom telling her she was going to go through this every summer, I did and I hated it too.

Every night we were in the field, most of my family was there. My grandpa who owns some of the land we farm and is retired, my aunt, my kids and myself, my sister-in-law and her 4 kids. We sat around a folding table eating and talking.

After years of hating the field, I loved seeing the excitement in my kid's faces when they saw their daddy and the combine, I loved the laughs and conversation we shared, even after the men went back to the field.

I finally understood why going to the field was so important.

My Name is Megan ... and I have no idea who I am

Updated version

As I stated in an earlier post, I turned 30 on my last birthday. Like anyone reaching a milestone birthday, I've done some reflecting on my life.

I took a Philosophy class about 2 years ago and hated it. I'm not a deep thinker nor am I one to take risks and speak my mind.

The final for this class was to write 2 essays. The first question being: What did you expect to learn from this class? The second: What DID you learn from this class?

We were given these questions a week before the final so I had time to think about my answers. And what I came up w/ (and have probably already subconsciously knew) is that I am a naive person.

It was handed down to me by my mom who thinks the best of everyone, gives them the benefit of the doubt, and has to make conversation w/ every person she meets.

Not to mention, we didn't have a lot of "family" discussions about sex, alcohol, etc. My mom just assumed I learned everything I needed to know in school which was true, but it would have been nice to have my mom to talk to about it.

I was also your typical good girl who did everything I was supposed to, never broke the rules (much), and looked the other way when something uncomfortable was going on.

So this Philosophy opened my eyes a little to the fact that I had no idea who I was as a person. I had my BA in English (Creative Writing), I was a wife and mother, I had a part time job I really enjoyed, and I was pregnant w/ my 2nd child.

Yet I didn't really have a feel for who I was. I've really started thinking about this a month or 2 before my birthday and have yet to come up w/ an answer.

Don't get me wrong, I love being a wife, mother, etc. but feel like my life is lacking something. In high school I wanted to be a screenwriter, in college I just wanted to write something and get published.

Now I'm just struggling to find the time to write anything (hence this blog was formed).

Anyone else out there struggling w/ their identity?

It's been a year since I wrote the above post. I now have 3 children, the oldest is in kindergarten. I still feel like I'm lacking in areas. Again, I love being a mother but feel that's all anyone ever sees me for. I'm Carsen's mom when I volunteer in his classroom. When I go home to visit my parents everyone wants to see the kids, that's my purpose in life: to give people optimal viewing of my children. 

Even my Hubby (who is super supportive of me and completely understanding) I feel only sees me as a Mom. We took a Marriage retreat class w/ 4 other couples thru our church earlier this year and when asked to name something you admire about your spouse, every husband in the room stated their wife was a good mother. 

Now I'm proud my Hubby thinks I'm a good mom. I'd be upset if he didn't, but I didn't want my whole identity to be simply Mom. 

I like to think of myself as a writer, a great organizer, an entertainment junkie, a great typist, and a great friend. Now these may not sound like great characteristics, but they mean something to me and I want people to know those in addition to the great mother thing. 

I'm going to continue to find my identity and truth be told I may never find her, but I need to get out of my comfort zone and find her. 

Summer Vacation Stress

My son just finished his 1st year of preschool. 2 days a week for 2.5 hours. It was nice to have those 2 mornings free for some one on one time w/ Baby Girl.

And let's be honest, it was nice to have that break from the Boy. I love him to pieces, but he can be hard to handle sometimes. (On the plus side, his meltdowns have almost disappeared completely or last for only a minute at most.) Next year he'll go to preschool 3 mornings a week.

Like every other mom out there, I was dreading summer break. I was already having trouble scheduling morning activities for 2 mornings a week, now I was going to have to come up w/ 3 or more!

We visit 3 different libraries a week so that takes care of about 3 days. Our rec center has a couple different activities for 3-5 year olds I plan to enroll him in not to mention blastball starts next month.

In the midst of all this panic to stay busy, I'm also finding it hard to fit everything into our schedule. Crazy, right? A lot of activities start at the same time on the same days.

There's story hour at 3 different libraries, special programs/story times b/c of summer reading, rec center activities, vacation bible school, visiting grandparents (fair, harvest), play dates w/ friends, swimming lessons, visiting the pool. Just to name a few.

Some activities I haven't signed the Boy up for yet. I'm still trying to make the pieces fit. It seems silly to stress about trying to fit all these different programs into our summer. The Boy isn't going to know what activity we're missing so what's the point in trying to hit them all?

Swimming lessons and pool time are pretty high on the priority list. Story times and library programs are okay to miss. Visits to grandparents will happen at specific times during the summer, easy to plan around. The rest will just have to happen week by week.

Anyone else having trouble fitting everything into their summer?

Meetup Group Gripes

I belong to a Meetup group (a website that pairs people w/ similar interests according to location like writers, bird watchers, homeschooled kids, SAHM). I joined last summer when we moved to Wichita.

For the most part I enjoy the outings and I've met one really great mom who I do things w/ outside the group. I do, however, have a few complaints about the group.

1) Home Play Dates - Many of the activities offered are play dates at other Mom's homes. My complaint about this activity is that every month the same mom's RSVP to go to these play dates. Most of them have more than 2 kids which I understand, they don't want to take that many kids out to a public activity, but for those of us who live outside of Wichita (that's right it usually takes me over 30 min. to reach an activity), we would like a chance to attend these play dates. There is a limit on how many people can attend each play date so as you can imagine, they fill up almost immediately after the event is created.

2) Other Moms/Kids - After you've attended a few group activities you know which kids/moms you want to avoid. There aren't many kids in the group my son's age, at least not boys, and there's one mom/child I do NOT want my son to play with. So I tend to avoid any activities where there isn't a group larger than 4 moms. When there are less kids, that's more one on one time my son would spend w/ the "problem" child.

3) Organizational Meetings - Once a month the group gets together to plan the next months activities. They usually meet on a Tuesday or Wednesday night at 6:30 PM in Wichita. My Hubby usually doesn't get home from work until 6:45 PM so chances are slim I will attend a meeting. I think the group is doing a good job of choosing the activities but it would be nice to have a say in what goes on the calendar. Some people complain b/c all the activities happen on the East side of Wichita and they live on the West side.

4) Time of Activity - ALL the activities take place in the morning. Not every day, but every activity has a start time in the AM. I can't figure out why they don't schedule any afternoon activities. I understand some kids need to be picked up from school, nap time conflicts, etc. but it would be nice to have other options. (I know I could bring this point up at the organizational meetings)

5) My Schedule - When school was still in session, it seemed like a lot of fun activities happened on Tuesday mornings. My son had preschool every Tuesday and Thursday meaning I couldn't attend. The time it would have taken me to drive to and from Wichita I wouldn't have had any time to participate in the activity. Next year, my son will go to school on M, W, F. Hopefully we won't miss as many fun activities.

I've met some great moms through this group and none of these complaints are severe enough to make me quit the group. It's just therapeutic to B***H and let off some steam.

Thanks for listening (reading)!

A quick favor: Could someone PLEASE like my page on Facebook?! I haven't done much w/ the page, but I think one of the reasons is I know no one is looking. Help me boost my self esteem!

I'm NOT a Morning Person

I've never been a morning person. In college I could sleep until at least 11 on the weekends. And I didn't even stay up that late the night before. (Again, I was lame in college.)

After I got married and started work in the "real world" it was hard to sleep past 8 or 9 on the weekends.

And then after our son came we found sleep wherever we could get it. After my daughter came, Hubby would let me sleep in most weekends. Once she was older, she didn't need to be fed immediately after waking which meant I didn't need to get up right away.

My usual morning routine has been: Hubby gets up, showers, leaves for work, I'm still in bed. Our son comes in about 30 minutes later to tell me Good morning and would I make him breakfast. (This is usually roughly 7:30.)

I then stall as long as I can (usually another 15-30 min) until the Girl wakes up.

Over the weekend Hubby was gone so I was playing the single parent. My son insisted on getting up at 6:30 Saturday morning and wanted milk which he can't get himself so I HAD to get up. I couldn't stall him. (I know how lazy/selfish of me to want to spend time in bed.)

After I got the water, I snoozed on the couch while he watched TV. Baby girl didn't get up until almost 8.

I'm embarrassed to admit that when my kids force me to get up earlier than I want, I tend to be a little on the cranky side. I'm short w/ my son, scold him for small things, and find fault w/ almost everything.

I know being a mother is my full time job and I'm supposed to be at their beck and call at every moment, but mornings are not the time I turn into June Cleaver and have breakfast and a smile waiting for them.

I'm working on changing my attitude. Just like I tell my son. I'm waiting for the day to come when I tell him I don't like his attitude and he tells me he doesn't like mine either.

That will not be a very happy day for either one of us.

Cartoons = Trouble

I've already told you all that my son likes to watch My Little Pony. Our new favorite is Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. (If you all haven't seen this show, you need to. It's awesome! It's on Cartoon Network.)

Anyway, Hubby and I are BIG fans of this show as well (I know it's a cartoon)so didn't mind adding it to our queue. Unfortunately, Netflix hasn't added any new episodes. We've watched the same 13 episodes at least 30 times.

Our daughter pleads to watch, "Bloo," on a regular basis and she's just so darn cute it's hard to say no!

This particular cartoon has taught our son some not so great behavior. In one episode, a character gets tied up, mouth taped shut, and put in a closet.

On several occasions, a character says, "What the...?"

(THIS IS NOT A VIOLENT CARTOON!)

My son has started using my hair ties to bound Woody's arms and legs, he asked me for tape to place across Woody's mouth (and later his own mouth). He no longer has access to my hair ties.

And saying, "What the...?" on a regular basis.

What kind of behavior do your kids get from cartoons?

High Expectations for Mother's Day

There are a lot of ecards and blog posts going around about Mother's Day.

Ok again, I was on vacation last week (sorry to keep bringing that up). I was gone for 3 1/2 days leaving Hubby alone w/ our 2 kids.

He asked me for a list of activities they could do while I was gone. I found this particulary funny. I didn't have a list when we moved here and I became a SAHM. Why should he have one?

The weather was rainy and overcast most of the time I was gone. Hubby reported there were no meltdowns, no major issues, and the house was clean when I got home. Like vacuumed the carpet, bathroom, floors were clean of toys, kitchen counters and sink were cleared off, way more effort than I put forth on a day to day basis.

I have to add that I did receive a text on day #2 stating I needed a raise b/c even though the kids were being good, their demands were constant. I got a small thrill from this, but that was the end of the sympathy for mom.

I had a small fantasy that Hubby would see how hard my job was and get me an awesome Mother's Day gift.

Then I walked into a spotless house and was told the kids were great the whole time I was gone. What?!

What an eye opener that maybe I need to put forth more of an effort to get things picked up before Hubby comes home.

The toys scattered in the living room/kitchen don't bother me all that much. But I know they bother Hubby.

He's usually the one to pick things up after the kids are in bed. We make our son pick up his own room before bed.

Back to Mother's Day, Hubby has a day trip for work on Sunday (what a rip right?). To say I'm less than pleased would be an understatement. I'M PISSED!

He's been gone the last 2 days, will be home tomorrow for supper, we're taking a day trip on Saturday, he's gone Sunday, and off Monday only to be gone on his annual "Man Weekend" the following Friday.

Ah the life of a pilot's wife.

What are your Mother's Day expectations? I'll let you know if I'm surprised.

Public Restrooms

As I stated in an earlier post, I was in Boston last week.

Our connecting flight home took off from Chicago. I have never been in the Chicago airport. We were there for about an hour. Long enough to find our gate, grab some food and use the bathroom.

Now I realize a lot of people don't like to use public bathrooms. They get squeamish and would rather pee their pants than use a public toilet. I'm not one of those people. If you gotta go, you gotta go.

I'm not a germaphobe. I don't always use a toilet seat cover when using a public bathroom (insert gasp here). If there's a little something on the seat, I grab some TP and wipe it off. Call me disgusting if you will but I hate those toilet seat covers. (I ALWAYS wash my hands if that makes me less disgusting.)

Those covers always seem to fall in the water before I have the chance to sit down. When the toilet flushes, it's not always strong enough to suck the cover down so you have to push it over the edge w/ your finger. They're loud and make me feel even more uncomfortable than I already am.

Like almost everyone, I used the bathroom before getting on the plane in Chicago. Imagine my surprise when I found this on the toilet seat.

That is a plastic cover already on the toilet seat. You can push the green light and the plastic cover spins to give the user a "clean" portion to sit on.

The questions were running through my head:

"Am I the first person to use this section?"

"Where does the 'dirty' section end?"

"Does the 'roll' get changed?"

"Did the person before me spin this or am I sitting on their section?"

"Should I spin it when I'm done or will the next person do it?"

"Isn't that a waste if I spin it and the next person does the same?"

I spun it before and after just to make sure.

Anyone else faced this dilemma?

Magazine Epidemic

We have a bit of an addiction over here. It doesn't involve alcohol or drugs or even peanut butter.

We get roughly 12 magazines delivered to our house. 9 of those are exclusively mine. They range from Parenting to Style and Entertainment to Fitness.

The other are the Hubby's. Family Handyman and some aviation magazines (he's a pilot).

I don't really care about hair, makeup or fashion. I like to read the celebrity interviews along w/ some of the sex tips (I know I'm not the only one out there).

The Fitness magazines are for motivation even though a lot of time I dog ear pages and don't look back.

I think the Parenting mags are self explanatory. Most of the time there are some great new gadgets and it's so nice to read about celebrities raising their kids and how "normal" their lives are. (Insert sarcasm here.)

The Holy Grail is my US Weekly. I absolutely LOVE this magazine. I can't live w/o it. I've been getting it for almost 10 years. Hubby calls it my Smut magazine and he's right. I'm in the zone when I read it.

How many magazines are stacked on your coffee table?

Today I Turn 30

Today is my 30th birthday. Which means my phone was chiming like crazy from all the Facebook messages telling me to have a great day.

My Hubby and kids took me out for supper. I would love to say it was a pleasant evening but in reality it was terrible. We stopped at Best Buy to look for a new camera battery (which they didn't have) and the kids were in fine form.

The boy saw some action figures he had to have. The girl just wanted to run around and scream. Boy threw one of his recent epic fits when we were leaving, screaming on the way to the car.

We almost didn't go to supper but boy calmed down by the time we reached a place he agreed to eat at. Can't even pick the restaurant on my own birthday. It ended up being Chili's which is completely acceptable.

I don't feel 30. I still feel 25, or 23, or 27. I constantly forget my age, not that anyone asks on a regular basis, but on the rare occasion I have to stop myself from saying 25 or 28.

I'm 30. No feelings of depression, no impending mid life crisis looming (I know that usually happens at 50, but it's possible at 30).

I do, however, have a few regrets.

1) Not getting out more in college. I didn't join a sorority in college for many reasons. I only had a handful of friends attend my wedding. I was a little bit jealous of the girls who had those special sorority dances at their weddings w/ all their sisters there.

2) I didn't have my 1st child sooner. This might be considered vain, but the Hubby and I are considering a 3rd child and I can't help but be nervous about having a child over 30. I had my son at 26. We had been married for 3 years which seems pretty average. We wanted to enjoy each other before having to share our attentions. Now I'm wondering if maybe I should have started a year sooner.

3) I wanted to travel more. Hubby and I are high school sweethearts. We got married right out of college. I don't regret getting married so young, but I do regret not seeing more of the world, either in the U.S. or internationally. I traveled to England and Italy w/ my choir group in college so I have experience traveling.

4) Not continuing piano and voice lessons. My mother made me take piano lessons for years when I was young. I hated them. Never practiced. Begged her to let me stop. She finally did. I moved on to voice lessons. I had a nice singing voice, but I wasn't very confident. My voice shook when I sang in public alone and it ruined my self confidence. Made me uncomfortable.

5) Be more confident, outgoing. I know it's hard to change your personality no matter what age you are. I remember as a child my cousins and I would routinely perform skits and put together plays for our family at birthday parties and other get togethers. When I was younger I wanted to be a performer. Not a pop or country star, but a dancer like on a cruise ship or Broadway show. I didn't take dance lessons as a child, but I still hung on to the dream. I sang in choir in college, had a nice scholarship, but didn't have the discipline to practice or motivation to continue.

These regrets don't mean I'm unhappy w/ my life. Quite the opposite. I have 2 beautiful children that make me laugh on a daily basis, a Hubby that's supportive, makes me laugh, and is an amazing father. I have more than I could ever hope for and can't wait to see what the next 30+ years have in store.

I HAVE to shower daily

I think just about every SAHM I know feels like it's a good day if she gets a shower. Am I wrong?

I absolutely HAVE to take a shower every morning. I hope this doesn't make me sound like a snob, I understand those mom's who don't have time or choose not to shower. I've been there. They want that extra 30 min. of sleep, wake up late, or spend that time getting ready to face the day so they're not rushing later.

Whatever the reason, I get it. I've been there myself some days.

But for me, I have to wash my hair and feel like a person. It's not a vanity thing. I'm the mom who wears yoga pants 5 out of the 7 days a week, I don't wear any make up and spend about 5 minutes on my hair in the morning. I just don't feel normal until I have a shower.

 Not even on a good day will I ever look put together like these ladies (I know they have a whole team to help them look this way).

But I also like to think I don't look this bad when I wake up.

I used to wake up right after my Hubby so I could shower w/ him still home in case the kids woke up. Ever since Xmas, I've been slacking in my routine and when Hubby leaves at 7 AM, I'm still snoozing.

My son or daughter wakes me up and I hope I have time to shower before having to be at our morning activity. My daughter is at the age where I can jump in the shower and not worry too much about her getting into much. Most of the time she follows me in the bathroom and bangs on the shower door.

Some days, I don't have time and I'm ok going thru the day that way. It's just another day in the life of a SAHM.

Purse or Diaper Bag?

The May 2013 issue of the magazine Parenting has a quote from Hilary Duff I found to be absolutely true.

"Now that I carry a diaper bag, I have no idea what to put in my purse to fill it up when I'm alone! I learned to need so little."

I love this quote. I identify w/ Hilary Duff (and also wished I looked like her after having a baby but that's another story). She's right.

First let me clarify, I no longer carry a diaper bag. My kids are bigger and I find all I really need are a couple of diapers, wipes, maybe a change of clothes for my daughter, a pack of Kleenex, handful of toys (action figures, mini board books, etc), maybe a packet of fruit snacks or a box of raisins. And of course my wallet.

This means I carry a "Mom" purse. It's a large brown leather bag that is both casual and dressy. It has a shoulder strap and another longer strap for wearing the purse cross-body. The longer strap also unclips. I usually only wear on the shoulder when I'm alone.

Now that I've explained the contents of my purse and it's appearance, I'll explain that when I'm going out w/ the Hubby or w/ friends I carry a smaller purse.

In this purse I usually carry my wallet, another mini Kleenex pack, my phone, and in just about every bag I carry I keep a tube of chapstick, a pair of nail clippers and a small bottle of tylenol.

As you can imagine, all these things don't even begin to fill my purse.

I see a lot of Moms who carry a purse AND a diaper bag. My question is: What are these Mom's carrying in their purse that can't be put in the diaper bag?

When I was carrying a diaper bag, all I did was slip my wallet into the diaper bag. I didn't need anything else. Can someone solve the mystery of why these women carry 2 bags?!

What do you carry in your "Mom" purse/diaper bag? Unload your bag for us!

I Took My Kids to the Y

I told you all that my family joined the Y on Monday. Our son was beyond excited to spend time in the Kid Zone there. I didn't get a chance to go back until today.

My daughter has some separation issues w/ both me and my Hubby. We go to MOPS twice a month w/ other kids she sees on a weekly basis at other functions and she still screams her head off when I leave her in the nursery. We've been going since September and she's had this reaction since Christmas. Not sure what her deal is but it takes about 10-15 minutes to calm her down.

It's safe to say I was nervous about leaving her in Kid Zone. The brochure said the staff would try and calm her for 10-15 minutes before paging me to come pick her up.

The main thing I worried about (other than my child) is the fact that I wouldn't get much of a workout in that short of time. (Great mom, huh?)

My son was excited and went right in w/ the staff. Baby Girl was eager to see what was inside the area and followed the staff inside, but once she realized I wasn't following, she freaked out and started sobbing.

I hastily finished the paperwork and hurried upstairs to get started. After 30 minutes, my name was paged and I made my way downstairs.

The staff told me she had been crying off and on the whole time and she recommended I leave her for only 30 minutes the first few times we visit. I could live w/ that. I didn't want to traumatize her anymore than necessary, especially if I wanted to make it a weekly visit.

I might try again on Sunday. Hopefully I'll get another 30 minute workout.

I Joined a Gym

Hubby and I have talked about joining our local YMCA for the past 9 months. It seemed silly to join right after we moved last year for numerous reasons:

1) It was the middle of the summer, they have an awesome water park, but I didn't see the point in joining for 2 months. Once it got cold I wasn't going to haul my butt to the gym.

2) I wasn't motivated enough in my quest for fitness to join.

The Y was running a joining special thru yesterday and we finally made the move. We want to get our son into swimming lessons before the pool opens and I feel ready to take this next step in my fitness journey. (Wow that sounded lame. Sorry about that.)

By joining we got 3 free sessions w/ a trainer (oh yeah!). I met w/ mine tonight. We were told one of the busiest times of the day was between 6-8 PM. Holy shit that guy wasn't kidding.

The parking lot was full and there was a large crowd when I walked inside. I'm easily intimidated by people and situations. I'm not an overly confident person either so you can probably guess I wanted to run out of there. It's guaranteed I won't be doing my working out at night until I've been going for awhile.

I met w/ my trainer for our 1st session. As to be expected, it was just a sit down where we discussed my goals and expectations. I told her about my desire to lose the 4+ years of baby weight, we talked about my equipment familiarity and preferences, etc.

I had thought about doing a little cardio after my session, but wasn't dead set on it. I didn't end up staying and felt like a lame-o. I did Level 2 of the 30 Day Shred so I at least did something.

Plus I left my headphones in my car and as lame as that excuse is, I wasn't going to cross the parking lot in 40 degree weather to get them.

Quality time w/ the Hubby

When you have small children alone time w/ the Hubby can be hard to come by. My kids are usually both in bed by 8:30 so Hubby and I are free to watch TV, a movie, balance our checkbook, etc.

Lately, Hubby has been working on a woods product in his shop in the garage leaving me alone w/ the TV and my iPad. It may seem crazy but I'm enjoying my evenings more when Hubby and I go our separate ways.

I'm a bit of a TV/remote hog and while we don't have cable, we have Netflix watch instant. I enjoy watching crime drama like Law & Order while Hubby likes to watch sci-fi (Eureka) and The West Wing. I like to watch these shows too but am kind of selfish and want to watch my shows all the time. (Terrible, huh?)

One of the library's we visit has an awesome collection of movies and TV shows. Last week I checked out CSI: NY. I loved this show when it was on TV. The only problem is DVD's can only be checked out for a week. That's 24 episodes to watch in 1 week! Luckily, the library has a week grace period so I won't be charged w/ a fee.

How do you spend your evenings? Are you happy to spend time alone w/o Hubby or do you prefer to be w/ him all evening?

Have you visited the Facebook page?

Early Bird Special

Hubby refuses to eat as early as 6 PM and most nights I agree w/ him. Hubby's been gone the last 2 nights and today the kids really pushed me to the max. We had a busy morning followed by a trip to the park after nap time.

I had the bright idea of going to McDonald's after the park. I figured it was a quick way to get my son to agree to go home and I didn't have to worry about cooking/cleaning up supper.

My son was excited about this and insisted we leave right away. I agreed w/ him then realized it was 5:30 when we loaded up in the car.

I was a little apprehensive about eating this early, but the kids were both being nice, it wouldn't do any good to prolong our departure, and I figured there wouldn't be too many people in McD's.

Boy was I right. The place was empty which was perfect for a mom w/ 2 kids that were bouncing off the walls and screaming in delight. Both kids were pretty good, the boy had one minor meltdown when after opening his toy, he declared he wanted a different one and demanded I exchange it.

So, while I won't make it a habit to eat at 5:30, it is good to know when taking small children out alone and want to avoid a crowd.

Supermom(s)

I have a friend I met through a mom's Meetup group. We try to get together once a week either thru a group planned activity or on our own. She has a 22 month old daughter.

Today we went to the zoo. The sun was out, first time in days, and we took advantage of it.

We arrived at the same time pulling into our parking spaces. I jumped out, unloaded the stroller, got my daughter out, strapped her in, my son jumped out, stroller was loaded w/ snacks, cups, and other necessary items.

My friend was still getting her stroller out of the trunk when we rolled up next to her car. She made a comment referring to Supermom b/c I had both my kids and stroller out and ready while she was still struggling w/ just the stroller.

I scoffed and smiled, brushing off the comment. Of course, I couldn't resist mentioning we had stopped at Target on the way and still managed to get there on time. (I was pretty proud of us for getting that done.)

There was no way I was a Supermom. She didn't know how I had struggled to get my son to put clothes on that morning, how my attitude changed when we walked into the store and the whining started, and she definitely didn't know that later today I got upset w/ him for wanting to wear his new shin guards during quiet time. (Why was that a big deal?)

My friend is a family therapist and has advised families on discipline cases among other things. She has recognized her daughter as being high needs. She's clingy, a frequent feeder/comfort nurser (she's still nursing her), hyperactive, and separation sensitive, among other symptoms.

My friend sleeps w/ her child almost every night and naps w/ her every day. She spent the first 9 months struggling to produce enough milk for her baby who wouldn't nurse yet she was determined to breastfeed. Because of this she pumped until her baby was able to attach properly to her nipple.

Her husband is going to nursing school so he spends his days in class or clinicals and when he is home, he wants to study. She could be considered a single parent most days of the week and I believe she rarely gets time to herself.

This woman is a true Supermom. I would not have her patience to handle a child that needs constant attention. One thing I love about my kids is that they both are happy to entertain themselves. She wants at least one more child. Her husband thinks that having a child w/ high needs is enough. She and I both agree that her daughter prepared her for pretty much any problem a newborn comes out having. Another child couldn't behave worse than what they've already experienced.

Sure there are some days when I have it together and can move smoothly through our daily routine w/o too many obstacles, but I would hardly call myself a Supermom. I think every mom should be called Supermom b/c she has the best job in the world. (Ok I know that was cheesy but it's the truth.)

Finding the Right Sports Bra

After the birth of my daughter in 2011, I knew I needed to do something about losing the baby weight. I hadn't lost much after my son was born so I had some extra around my middle when I got pregnant the second time.

A friend on Facebook was raving about Moving Comfort and their products.

I should point out that I'm a large chested girl (much to my displeasure) and wear a 38-40 DD. I'm sure I could wear an E if I knew where to buy that size in the big state of KS.

So this friend had posted about Moving Comfort making sports bras for large chested women so I thought I'd give it a look. I was tired of my girls bouncing around and the straps cut into my neck.

The Juno bra is the sites bestseller. I found my size on clearance (score!) and also ordered the Fiona style that was also on clearance.

When the bras came I tried them on immediately. The Fiona was beyond comfortable. The straps sat in the middle of my shoulder, not cutting into my neck and making my boobs "dip" in the middle, and felt more like a regular bra.

The Juno was a different story.

I apologize for this second picture being blurry. (I also don't know why the model looks so spaced out.)

The bottom strap has hooks like a regular bra. You'll notice it doesn't "open" in any way like a regular bra either. This means it has to be slid over your head (like a sports bra) and somehow you have to fasten the hooks.

For me, it's nearly impossible to pull this thing over my head w/ the hooks fastened. I also have to adjust the straps once it's on.

The first time I had to have Hubby help me. The second time I put it on was just a few weeks ago, I think I kept the hooks fastened and pulled it over my head. (It worked!) Then I had to adjust the straps.

I had to ask my son to throw them over my shoulder (I know I'm not proud of that). I wore this bra all day and it was the most uncomfortable thing ever. The straps cut into my neck, it rubbed a mole under my arm, and it was "big."

I'm glad other women have had such great luck w/ this bra, can you share your secrets?

I'm looking to buy another Fiona. That's my #1 choice.

Cartoon Love

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but my son likes to watch My Little Pony on Netflix. At first, Hubby and I were like Really? That's a girl show.

Then we realized we didn't want him to share our attitude about similar things and let it go.

Has anyone else seen this show? It's pretty good. Hubby and I are ashamed to admit it, but we LOVE this show. If we miss an episode, it's a little disappointing.

Most days my son is allowed to take my iPad into his room during quiet time (how else am I going to get my nap?). If he watches an episode w/o me, again, it's a little disappointing.

When we watch a show on the TV, I'll back up to the last episode I watched. Pathetic isn't it? Then, of course, I'll tell Hubby about the episodes we watched and let him know if any are worth him watching.

We haven't gotten to the point where we watch them after the kids are in bed. That would just be sad.

I enjoy cartoons even now in adulthood. We regularly watch Rugrats, Spongebob (our daughter's new favorite), Hey Arnold!, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, etc.

My name is Megan and I love watching cartoons, preferably from the '90s. (Even if my kids aren't home!)

Dentist Appt.

When we got ready to move, I thought of all the "new" people we would have to meet. These new people are all in the medical profession. A new eye doctor, new gynecologist, new family doctor, new hair dresser, new vet, new dentist.

I don't enjoy the dentist. I don't know many people who do.

When I was a child, our family dentist was a very nice man. I would show up at his office, the lovely, smiling hygienist would get me set up in the chair w/ a smock and make idle chit chat. She would tell me the dentist would be w/ me shortly and I proceeded to wait 30 minutes for the dentist.

In college, I went to this dentist maybe twice. It was hard to schedule appts. on visits home and I never pursued a dentist at college.

After I got married, it was 3 years before I decided it might be a good idea to find a new dentist. This new dentist was highly recommended by coworkers, always a plus.

Imagine my surprise when I sat in the chair and the hygienist placed the smock on my chest, then started working on my teeth! I had been under the impression for the past 5 years that hygienists were only there for moral support to both the patient and doctor.

At my childhood dentist, the dentist would clean my teeth w/ that gritty crap that took forever to get off my teeth no matter how many times I rinsed. That was the main reason why I hated the dentist. I didn't want my teeth cleaned. That gritty feeling stayed w/ me until I got home and brushed.

At the new dentist, the hygienist would clean (the stuff didn't feel so gritty) and then would point the  sprayer at my teeth and rinse them off w/ their super pressurized sprayer! My teeth felt sparkly clean  and oh so shiny.

After moving to the Wichita area, I didn't hesitate to find a new dentist. There's only one in our town so the decision was easy. I made an appt. for Hubby, my son, and myself. Hubby's appt went great, as usual, he only has to be seen yearly. I have to be seen every 6 months. My brushing habits aren't stellar.

At my first appt, a half cavity I'd had filled right after the birth of my son had come out and another half cavity had formed on an upper tooth. I had to make a follow up appt to get them filled.

That day was last Friday. I wasn't nervous upon arrival, everything had gone great at the first one, what was there to worry about?

I sat in the chair, the head was lowered, making me feel a little like I was in my OBGYN's office. The light flipped on and the hygienist asked if I wanted nitrous. Wait, what? I thought this was just a cavity filling? She said some people get nervous. I said I was fine.

The doctor came in then and injected me w/ 2 lovely shots. Both cavities were on my left side, both top and bottom. Anyone know what that means? That's right, the left side of my face was drooping. I looked like I'd had a stroke. Hubby had a good laugh at my expense.

Back to me in the chair, I had spacers inserted. You know, to hold my mouth open? (I think that's what they're called.) While I'm sitting there w/ my mouth propped open, wearing plastic glasses, all I'm thinking is, "They're totally going to talk about me after I leave."

TV Love

I know TV isn't good for kids. I've read the studies and agree TV isn't great for developing minds. When my son was around 12 months old, he was noticing the TV, would pause to look at the screen when a song came on, but he would always go back to what he had been doing.

Which meant I was safe to watch whatever I wanted without worrying about content and language.

I grew up watching TV. My dad had the remote surgically attached to his hand. We watched everything from sports to the news to weeknight TV. Following in my father's footsteps, I also have to be holding the remote.

Hubby got used to this early on in our marriage. He accepted the fact that I was my father's daughter.

I enjoy having the TV on pretty much all the time. I like to hear the people talking. It's like I'm not alone. The quiet house feels uncomfortable (the noise of my kids is different). I know a lot of people would say, "Just listen to music," but it's not the same. The TV is like a conversation.

My son likes to watch TV, but most of the time just watches until he remembers he wants to be playing. Half the time the living room is empty and the TV playing.

My daughter is also showing a preference for TV, but she also becomes side tracked a few minutes into a show.

Both of my kids are extremely smart (I'm probably biased though) and neither shows even the slightest symptoms of ADHD or being under developed.

I'm not going to change my TV habits but I also don't leave our TV on 24/7. We do have a period during the day where the TV is off.

Valentine's Day

Let's go back a few weeks to Valentine's Day. Hubby and I stopped making a  big deal out of this holiday about 5 years ago. We usually buy each other a card and maybe a little something, but it's never anything as big as flowers or dinner out.

Since we moved, we haven't been out on date nights much. It's hard to find a babysitter in a new town.

So back to that Thursday, Hubby worked about 30 minutes later than normal. I didn't make anything special for supper but I had a peach pie I'd bought at the store. (Real special I know. I don't bake.)

My daughter had been acting clingy and whiny all day, rare for her. She'd had some diarrhea, one real special, up her back and everything.

Baby girl had milk w/ her supper and not much else (she's usually a great eater), same as every night. She was whining and rubbing her tummy. Then she pointed in her mouth and stuck out her tongue like there was a bad taste. She then proceeded to throw up milk all over the kitchen floor and some of the carpet. (You all know how disgusting milk throw up smells right?)

I have a very weak stomach. I gag just hearing someone throw up. I dragged her into the bathroom and got her cleaned up. Then ordered my son to keep her in the living room so I could clean up the floor. Half a roll of paper towels and several Clorox wipes I had the hard wood cleaned up. I wiped what I could off the carpet and put a towel over it. When Hubby came home he used our Bissell carpet cleaner to go over it. The smell was gone thank God.

My Valentine's Day I got to clean up poop and puke. How did you spend yours?

I LOVE McDonald's

I'm not proud of this confession and it's not a secret. The small town we live in doesn't have a McDonald's so it's kind of a special treat when we eat at one.

Today was such occasion. The kids and I met a group of moms from church at the local library for story time and then lunch and play time afterwards. The other kids there were 2 and under (mine are 4 and 18 months).

There was a play place inside which meant my son would be doing his version of hit and run eating, running to the table to take a bite then running back to play. I know this isn't great parenting, but it's better than listening to him whine the whole time, or better yet, telling me he wasn't hungry then complaining he was hungry when it was time to go.

Anyway, one mom there w/ her also 18 month old confessed this was her son's first Happy Meal and her husband stated it would be his last. She then told us they hadn't eaten at McDonald's in probably 10 years. WTF?? She has the time and energy to cook a meal every night?

I didn't mention that the kids and I eat at McDonald's maybe every other week whenever we have a play date or are running errands in Wichita. (The kids get coupons for free Happy Meals from our PAT group. That's a big part of why we eat there so much.)

I didn't want the other mom's to judge me and talk about me later. (Yes, I'm insecure and care what other people think. One of my biggest character flaws.)

I also couldn't hear the whole conversation very well b/c of all the screaming kids, mine included.

I'm always intrigued when I hear people say they don't like McDonald's. Hubby isn't a big fan, but he likes to eat there occasionally. I know other people are caught up in the health craze and obesity, and I'm not saying we shouldn't be worried about these things, but my son eats maybe 1 or 2 of his chicken nuggets and all of his fries.

Also, we're not eating this kind of food every day. He also gets the regular servings of fruits and veggies. Whether or not he eats them is out of my control. We decided a long time ago we weren't going to force our kids to eat something if they didn't want to. We will encourage them to "try it" but there will be no sitting at the table until your plate is clean in our house.

What are the rules in your house?

Blizzard Prep

We were predicted to get 8-12 inches of snow Monday afternoon-evening. We cancelled our plans to stay an extra day w/ our parents in order to beat the snow home. No one wants to be on the road in that weather, especially w/ kids.

I had to do our weekly grocery shopping and wasn't happy to have to do it on Sunday night in bad weather. Luckily, there wasn't any weather to worry about, the only thing in my way was the million other people also preparing for the blizzard we were predicted to have.

As expected, some areas of Dillon's were cleaned out, for example, milk (not even a half gallon of skim), tomato sauce, bread, and bananas. I found this to be strange. In the event of a blizzard when I would spend a lot of time in my house, bananas are not my go to food.

I do not see bananas as a food I cannot live without. I have 2 children and I still don't view bananas as a staple in my kitchen. Bread, milk, even tomato sauce are no brainers, but bananas?? Seriously?! Out of all the produce, bananas were the only section empty.

There must be more recipes using  bananas than I'm aware of, if you know of any good ones, please share!

When Hubby Naps

My husband's schedule allows him to be home every other Friday and every other Monday. Today was an exception b/c of the snow we received (and are still getting). Normally, he's the model dad and husband, getting up w/ the kids, letting me sleep in, entertaining them while I get some chores done, etc. And then there's nap time. Now I don't want to say too much about him b/c like I said, he's a great guy, but on some days when he's home and tired (who isn't?), he falls asleep on the couch, before nap time.

On occasion I've mentioned, "If you wait 30 minutes the kids will be sleeping." But this gets almost no reaction. His eyelids are too heavy. In turn, I get pissed off b/c he's snoring on the couch while the kids run around screaming and all I really want to do is take my nap (on the days I give in).

Today was a perfect example, he had spent some of the morning w/ the kids playing in the snow and the other time scooping our driveway. I know he was tired, but he still could have waited until 1 PM to stretch out on the couch. Instead, he sat w/ Baby Girl on his lap, started a cartoon and let his head fall back. I finished cleaning up from lunch, kept the kids entertained, and quiet, for 30 minutes, put them in their rooms, and went to lay on our bed.

I shouldn't be complaining too much, we both got our naps right?

Apple can bite me

On Friday the 8th my iPhone gave me message the newest update was available for download. I selected install now and was greeted w/ the lovely bar that turns white as the download progresses. Only problem was the bar didn't darken all the way. Instead, I was told to connect to iTunes. Now I've had my iPhone for over a year and never have I been asked to connect to iTunes.

Being a good girl, I followed directions, plugged in my USB cord and was told my version of iTunes was damaged, it needed to be reinstalled. Hubby and I were getting ready to leave town, it was going to take an extra 30 minutes at least to get this update taken care of, so I left the phone home for the weekend planning to deal w/ the problem when I got home.

Weekend over, iPhone was waiting for me. I reinstalled iTunes, plugged in the phone, got a message stating my iPhone needed to be restored. I hadn't backed it up since before Xmas, I had dozens of pictures and videos I was going to lose. Talk about frustration!! I don't handle frustration well, especially technology related. I tend to overreact, assume the worst, throw up my hands and walk away. (Hubby loves this about me. I get it from my mom.) Hubby spent some time researching and told me there was no way around the restore.

I okayed the restore only to get an error message saying restore not possible. Something about not being able to connect to Apple at this time. WTF! When do I have time in my day of being a mom to call and spend an hour on hold w/ Apple support? Tuesday I'm beyond frustrated and the kids are actually being good, so I decide to take a chance. I'm connected w/ a REAL person almost immediately. I spend the next 2 hours on the phone speaking w/ 3 different people about my problem. Nothing we try works. I call a senior supervisor back on Sunday, we try 2 more things, again neither one works. She advises me to try connecting to iTunes from another computer. It may be my WiFi connection isn't strong enough. And if that doesn't work Apple can do a manual restore that will cost a big fat $150.

Hubby took my phone to work today and it worked! Wahoo! Only problem is now it's telling me I have another update to install. Am I a part of some vicious circle Apple created? I'll have to ask during my next customer service call.

A visit from the repairman

I hate when an appliance breaks down or my husband calls someone to look at our garage door, roof, etc. Even when I was working I was always the one who had to be home when these people visited our house. It was harder for Hubby to know his schedule day to day and when he would be available. What usually happened was Hubby would call the office and make the initial appt. then call me to tell me when he scheduled the visit.

I never know how to act when these people come to my house. The insurance adjuster is there to look at our roof? Great, I'll just hang out inside and wait for him to ring the doorbell and tell me he's done. I'll take the paperwork he hands me and say goodbye.

The bug guy comes to spray. I got to know our old bug guy pretty well. He was a nice guy who talked while he worked and made you feel comfortable w/ a stranger being in your home. I could usually go about my business when he was working.

An appliance repairman. This is where I get a little uncomfortable. Do I need to stand there and watch while he works? Most of the time it's in a room where I can be working on housework, but sometimes it's not in a convenient location. Like this past week we had a guy come and look at the fridge we keep in our garage. I was standing out there when it was about 45 degrees in our garage (he tested it) w/ 2 small kids. See the problem is, if I had left the guy alone to do his job then he would of had to come in the house every time he had a question.

This is another thing I don't like about being the only person home during these visits. I feel like an idiot calling my husband every time the guy has a question I can't answer, but even worse is explaining to my husband what the guy told me while he was there. Most of the time I don't remember the specifics, just general information, so can't always answer my husband's technical questions in a way that would please him. I'm not a very technical person and when you throw stuff at me like how a fridge works, my mind kind of goes blank. I can nod and say all the right things, "Sure, Ok, I see," but I can't repeat back what I've been told.

The Underwear Wars

I am very glad to say that my son is 95% potty trained. We never thought this day would come, we were hoping to see it a lot sooner, but are very proud he's grasped the idea and is following through w/ peeing in the potty.

The 5% he's lacking is, you guessed it, #2 in the potty. Most days he manages to put it all in there, but lately he's had maybe one accident every other day. This makes for an extra load of wash that needs to be done unless I want dried, poopy underwear sitting around in a bathroom.

Right now, I have 4 pairs of dried, poopy underwear sitting in the bathtub. Why, you ask? When my son is done going potty, we've told him he needs to close the bathroom door so his sister doesn't go in and "explore." So at bedtime, the door is always closed and my visual to wash poopy underwear is sitting behind the closed door.

Because my son has been doing so well w/ his potty training, we let him pick out some new underwear. He chose Angry Birds (who wouldn't?) and is very excited to wear them each day. So excited that he wants to change his underwear several times a day. It's become a battle in the mornings.

I say, "You put on clean underwear last night after your bath, you don't need clean ones this morning."

Followed by him sobbing, "But I wanna wear the ones w/ the piggies on them!"

You can see the dilemma. Sometimes I wonder if he poops in his underwear just so he can change them. I have a laundry system w/ a chart that tells me what laundry I wash on each day. Kid's clothes are Monday's so technically I'm done for the week, but do you think I'm going to leave those dried, poopy pants laying in my bathroom for another 5 days?! Not to mention the fact that if we continue like this, he's going to run out of underwear.

I'm on my way downstairs w/ the basket.

I finally created a Facebook page: Tales of a Suburban Mom. Check it out the next time you're bored on Facebook!

Making the most of our weekends

Our Sunday's usually consist of church, eating lunch out, coming home and everyone taking a nice nap, adults included. Last Sunday, our money was a little tight that week so no lunch out. On the way home, baby girl fell asleep so she went right to bed when we got home which put a crimp in our schedule right off the bat. We ate lunch and baby girl woke up before we were done. She had slept for less than an hour which was totally not normal. Naps are usually 2 hours.

After lunch, baby girl had no interest in laying back down so mom and dad didn't get one either. What we did instead was take advantage of our day home. Hubby vacuumed out my car which was long overdue, I vacuumed inside and organized toys in the kid's rooms plus got caught up on some laundry. Our Christmas tree was still up, the car took priority over that. At the end of the day, Hubby and I were pretty proud of ourselves for not sleeping away the afternoon. We felt good in the evening instead of feeling tired, crabby, and unorganized to start the week. I had a plan for dinner and prep and clean up took no time at all.

Today baby girl took a regular nap (2 hours), Hubby took a short nap on the couch, I took the dog for a walk, the tree came out of the basement, which created a huge mess of needles. The vacuum became clogged twice, Hubby had to blow the hose out. The mess still isn't cleaned up, dinner and bedtime got in the way. I made treats for my son to take to school for his birthday, supper cooked and cleaned up. Feeling pretty proud of myself again.

We've been traveling the last 4 years on Super Bowl Sunday due to our son's birthday party falling on that weekend. Of course, we don't have cable so watching at home isn't an option. It's year we're at home w/ no party invites. We didn't go looking for invites but were hoping one would come up. We discovered today that missing the game the last 4 years has made us immune to the excitement. Plus as a parent, the game usually isn't much fun anyway, at least not if you're the mom.

My kids are addicted to technology

When my son was born in 2009 we were a technology minimal house. We had a desktop computer and neither one of had smartphones. Shortly after he was born, we bought a laptop which progressed into Hubby getting a smartphone and me getting a blackberry. The point is: my son didn't know about technology until he was at least 2. Even then Hubby and I didn't have anything exciting on our phones that he could play with.

When my daughter was born, in 2011, we had our laptop, Hubby had an Android phone, an iPad, I know have an iPhone and iPad. Our son is a whiz at Angry Birds (like seriously better than me) and pretty much every other game I have on my phone. Baby girl also enjoys pushing buttons and seeing the animation of these games. They each have their own folders on my iPhone and iPad. My son knows exactly which one is his while baby girl just likes to randomly push buttons.

My son is at the age where he understands when he can play on my phone or iPad. Baby girl is not. She believes she should be playing w/ these devices all the time. If she sees one, or sees her brother holding one, she begins to scream and throw a royal temper tantrum complete w/ foot stomping, arms flailing and hitting. The only action she's missing is throwing herself on the ground. She's started bending at the waist so it's only a matter of time before she ends up on the floor.

In order to avoid this horrific scene ever time I use my phone, I have to hide it in my pocket if we're out or I just leave it on the countertop when we're at home and whenever I need to read or reply to an e-mail or text, I lean over the counter really far when baby girl isn't around. If I hear her coming, I put it down and step away from the counter so as not to draw her eye to the phone sitting on top. She's still short enough she can't see it sitting up there but that doesn't stop her from standing on her tiptoes and trying.

Do your kids go crazy over technology?

How to Tune out your Kids

I've been able to do this since before my son was talking. Hubby has a problem doing this. He can't get past the high pitched voice screaming, "Mommy, mommy, mommy!" over and over from the back seat or the living room. I have no problem whatsoever, probably b/c I have spent the last 8 hours w/ no one but these small people to talk to and once an adult comes w/in 10 feet of me, I can't contain my mouth.

I first realized this gift one Friday when my family was driving 6 hours to visit the grandparents. I had worked that day (I worked part time before we moved), Hubby had worked, we were both tired but as was our routine he drove the first leg of the trip. I was sitting in the passenger seat chattering away about who knows what while my son tried to be heard from the back seat. He kept repeating, "Mommy, mommy, mommy." His volume never changed, just the intensity and speed of the phrase. I kept jabbering away to Hubby like we were the only 2 in the car. Finally Hubby says, "Can you not hear that?" I looked at him blankly for a minute before turning around and answering the inane question my son just had to have an answer to in that very second.

Further proof that men cannot multitask.

Sweatpants vs. Yoga Pants

I have a relationship w/ my sweatpants. It started in college when I bought a fleece pair at Old Navy w/ the drawstring waist. They were all the rage 10 years ago. I never wore them outside my dorm or apartment, I thought that was tacky (at the time). I didn't start "living" in them until I got married and had kids.

My first pair of fleece pants I wore all thru my 1st pregnancy and after. I bought a pair of yoga pants to wear out in public b/c the fleece ones I thought looked sloppy. My husband hated the fleece pair. He said they didn't flatter my ass the way the yoga pants did.

After the birth of my 2nd child, I gave up the fleece pants and bought another pair from the Gap this time. These fit a little snugger than the previous pair and were lots more comfortable. Hubby was thrilled when I replaced them. I wear them all the time. I wear my jeans out during the day then "Boom!" back home, I pull the Gap pants back on. They're usually thrown over the bed waiting for me to return.

Now lets get to the point of this post, my sweatpants are WAY better than yoga pants. They kick yoga pants ass! Don't get me wrong, I own a pair of yoga pants and they are very comfortable. The problem I have w/ them is they aren't very flattering to my shape. They draw attention to my "post pregnancy" tummy and divide the fat into 2 sections above and below the waistband. I'm constantly pulling them up when the spare tire, or muffin top, pushes the waistband down to extreme discomfort level and has me hiking them up to nipple height. Hubby has told me how attractive this looks. I do prefer to wear the yoga pants out in public, they fit better and look nicer than the Gap pants.

I took pictures of both pairs of pants but can't figure out how to download them from my iPad onto the blog. It's going to take some research. I'm not a real tech savvy person but I hope to spruce this blog up a little, and I'm hoping to start a Facebook page in the next week so be sure and check back!

The Quality of my Sleep

When I was in college I made it a rule to be in bed by 10, 10:30 at the latest. (I know how lame, right?) As many of you can imagine, there are large parts of college I wish I could redo. I finally came to my senses my senior year and started staying up until midnight on a pretty regular basis.

Up until my family and I moved 6 months ago, Hubby and I rarely found ourselves in bed after 10:30. The clock would hit 10 and I would be headed to brush my teeth and remove my contacts. It was some weird internal alarm I had, I don't know how else to explain it. But now that we've moved, we're night owls. I sit here typing this at 11:17 PM knowing my alarm is set for 5:30 AM (I really hope I can get out of bed and not just turn it off) and that only leaves a mere 6 hours of sleep.

I don't know what changed to make us crave the night hours. Maybe it's b/c I'm staying home and I'm grasping to whatever downtime I can get before the whole day begins again and I won't have a free moment until nap time.

My nighttime routine is the same every night: make supper, eat, rinse and load dishwasher, set timer on dishwasher, put kids to bed, watch TV downstairs while simultaneously playing on my iPad, come back upstairs after a ridiculous long time watching TV to remember the 100 things I need to get ready for the next morning. If I would just get up at 5:30 when my alarm goes off I could probably avoid a lot of that, but I don't. Why? Because I'm lazy! I like my sleep but I'm losing some self esteem and I'm hoping that's more important to me than sleep right now.

I have a sleep cycle app on my phone that's supposed to monitor my sleeping patterns and wake me when I'm in the mode where I won't feel the most tired. It tells me how long I stay in deep sleep and at what times I'm "awake." it also tells me what percentage my sleep quality is and stores past nights. As of right now, the best night of sleep I got was right after thanksgiving. Now I don't usually use this app unless I need to set my alarm so I don't use it on weekends. I found it interesting that I haven't had a good nights sleep for 2 months. I thought I'd been sleeping pretty well. Although I got the flu at the end of last week and I've had lots of coughing fits mainly at night. That hasn't helped my sleep quality.

Now that its 11:30 my chances for those 6 hours tonight is dropping pretty fast. Maybe I should shoot for 5.5.

Sick SAHM

I must have jinxed myself w/ my previous Booger Nose post b/c I woke up yesterday and my throat was horribly scratchy and sore and my body was aching (I'd worked out the day before so couldn't be sure my body aches were sick related). I haven't been going thru much Kleenex on my account (the boy is going thru it like crazy). Today when I woke up my throat was on fire, I hadn't slept well and had coughed most of the night, my head was aching and as the morning wore on I started to feel light headed and sick to my stomach.

Like every other SAHM, I had kids to take care of regardless of how I felt. After dropping my son off at preschool, I brought my daughter home and took my temp which said 100.5. I sent my husband a text thinking of how great a day in bed would be. I had checked out several books from the library and had added them to the growing pile on my nightstand. But I sucked up my symptoms and told him I would be fine, and I was later in the morning.

When my husband came home from work, I planned to "retire" to the basement and veg in front of the TV and let Hubby take care of the kids. I'd already fed the kids so he didn't have much left to do. He is having a "lodge" weekend where he will be spending 2 days w/ friends hunting, drinking, laughing, etc. while I spend those 2 days w/ my parents and mother-in-law as a single mother. (Can you tell I love to torment Hubby w/ this?)

I figured if he was going to spend the next 2 days "kid free" I deserved an hour of solitude in the basement, especially if I didn't feel good. I wasn't alone 5 minutes before I heard the "thump, thump, thump" on the stairs and the lights come on. Hubby had brought the kids downstairs. In his defense, he had explained to our son that mommy didn't feel good and wanted to watch her show. I had started an episode of My Strange Addiction that isn't exactly kid friendly.

I gave Hubby a look and explained my reasoning. He asked if he should take the kids upstairs to which I said no. Hubby was tired, I was tired, neither one of us had the strength to corral the kids.

This weekend should buy me some "mom" time for the next couple weeks. :)

Booger noses

For me the worst part about having a cold is the runny nose. It makes your nose red and raw from blowing/wiping, is annoying b/c you have to sniff until you think you'll pass out, and makes you go thru a lot of Kleenex which you don't always have on hand when you're out and about w/ small children. I've been known to rifle thru the side car door (what we use for a trash can) looking for a used Kleenex b/c my son is most likely licking the stream of snot running out of his nose (sorry for the visual but it's the truth).

Right now my son has a runny nose. Not just your standard runny nose, I mean thick yellow snot (what color means its healthy? Is it yellow?). There's also a dried ring of snot inside one nostril that I have to practically hold him down to dig around and clean it out.

My daughter doesn't have a runny nose, she gets the dried crusty boogers that I have to fight her to clean out. My technique is to kind of scrape them out w/ my fingernail when I can get a clear shot.

The perks of being a mom, right?

Sleeping in - Good idea or time waster?

Ever since we came back from Xmas break (we spent a week w/ our families), I have found it nearly impossible to get back on schedule. It didn't help that I slept until 9 almost every day of break b/c there were grandparents who were more than happy to get up w/ the kids. Then when we came home to our house, Hubby, being the sweet and considerate man that he is, let me stay in bed an additional 3 more days before going back to work. That's when it all fell apart. My mind knew I needed to get up and shower when the alarm went off, but my body was happy snuggling under the blankets and dozing for another hour. I had also planned to start working out that week, just another memo my body didn't get. My mind was all set to go; the body didn't agree.

It has now been 2 weeks since we've been back, and even though our daily lives are back on schedule, I still cannot get myself out of bed in the mornings! Last week I think I only showered twice, the other days I slept until my son crawled in bed w/ me. I set my alarm every night for 5:30 AM intending to work out. I shut it off and go back to sleep. Hubby's alarm goes off at pretty much the same time.

Last week I did however manage to work out 3 times thanks to my son. I have the EA sports active program for the Wii and started the 30 day challenge at the beginning of the month. I think I've done 6 workouts and today is the 14th. Sad I know. Anyway, my son likes to do some of the exercises w/ me like running, inline skating and boxing so throughout the day he'll ask when I'm going to do my workout. I figure its a way for him to burn off energy and kills 30 min at the same time.

Every night, after I've looked at Pinterest, I get all hyped up and say to myself that I will get up in the morning and make tomorrow better b/c I slept until 8:30 today and took a nap at quiet time. I didn't follow my normal routine of laundry and kitchen clean up and felt like shit most of e day. Not to mention my jeans are tighter still. I need a big change and borderline intervention. I've browsed some cross fit sites and am wondering if I have what it takes to try it. The main thing is I'm lazy, there I said it. My name is Megan and I'm a lazy girl who doesn't want to get out of her nice warm bed and work out in the mornings, nor do I want to watch what I eat.

Think about me in the morning and send positive thoughts my way so I can crawl out of bed. I'll let you know what happened tomorrow. Check later!

My daughter aka "The Screamer"

When my family tells childhood stories, they often involve stories of me screaming. Like the time my Aunt put me in time out b/c I wouldn't stop screaming. Of course, I kept screaming and then stayed in time out. I refused to stop. I could reach quite the high octaves I was told. I can't reach those octaves anymore, but my daughter has inherited my awesome set of lungs.

She screams out of anger, frustration, excitement and glee. She's starting to react when her older brother takes something away from her (which he does on a regular basis) w/ an ear piercing scream. Last week she had an unusually hard day in which she screamed a lot. My ears are still recovering. In the past couple weeks, her screaming has been happening a lot more frequently: in church, the library, grocery store, the car, etc. Surely this isn't the start of parent manipulation to get what she wants? B/c it just might work. We hate to give in, but when it happens somewhere like church, we're scrambling to shut her up and avoid the annoyed glances from fellow parishioners.

On the flip side, hearing her squeal in excitement when her daddy comes home or listening to her laugh while playing w/ her brother lights my face up and makes the anger screams almost a forgotten memory.

For about 15 minutes, of course.

Potty training update

Today marks a week since we put away the size 6 diapers and told our son underwear was the only way to go. We were a prisoner to our house last week something that I was fine w/ considering the mess he would make in public should he have an accident. 

Well an accident happened in public over the weekend, but lucky for me, it happened when he was w/ Daddy. I had packed a bag w/ change of clothes, sock, and shoes plus a plastic bag to contain the pee soaked clothes. Hubby was glad for this life saving bag as I pointed out that he wouldn't have remembered a pull up much less a change of clothes. 

The point of this post was to share that today marked our first accident free day (w/ the exception of poop)! I can't tell you how proud we are of him!! He goes back to preschool tomorrow and I'll be sending the "emergency bag" w/ him and giving his teacher the rundown. 

I'm also pleased his behavior has improved. Before Xmas he wasn't listening, talking back, and copping some major attitude both in public and at home. Hubby and I were ready to try anything. I found myself yelling constantly at this child who would scream, cry, and become so emotional at the word "no." We were worried our daughter would be the "emotionally unstable" child (and she could still be) but the boy was worse than we could imagine. But over the past week, I've noticed an improved attitude, no more screaming and crying over minor things, and doing a great job of listening. I credit myself for keeping my temper and frustration level under control, not biting his head off or being annoyed by every little question or comment. I also like to think that my son is finally ready to be a "big boy" and change his behavior. 

Whatever the reason Hubby and I are just glad the family dynamic around here has calmed down. Hubby knows how our day went minutes after he comes home. I guess my tension is either so evident I'm a monster and bite his head off or I'm smiling like an idiot and looking relaxed and refreshed. Either way I always have dinner on the table, isn't that the most important part? 

What makes me a Suburban Mom

So I titled this blog "Tales of a Suburban Mom" obviously b/c I live in the suburbs. Let me give you some background.

I grew up on a farm where I did very little farm related work (raise cows, plant/cut wheat, corn, beans). I hated harvest time in the summer b/c of the heat and also b/c when it was time to move equipment, my dad called and needed my help, or my mom's, to drive a various vehicle. I could barely remember my directions from my own house and my dad would name the field they were in and then use directions like "5 miles south of the water tower" or something equally confusing. Thank goodness for cell phones so I could call when I got lost. I spent a lot of time driving dirt roads looking for a combine and grain cart.

I went to college in Lawrence, which I loved. Not growing up close to a big city of any kind, it was a little overwhelming at first especially driving anywhere but I got over that quickly. I loved having my pick of stores and restaurants at my disposal and came quite accustomed to that so called lifestyle. My boyfriend (eventually my husband) was from the same town as me. He loved the small town life. Once it appeared we were serious, I made it clear I didn't intend to love anywhere close to home. I didn't want my mom to drop by whenever she was in the neighborhood or see someone I knew every time I went out of the house. He agreed that was fine and we settled in SE Kansas right after we got married. Fast forward 7 years later and we're living in what you would call a suburb of Wichita. Hence, the reason for the title of this blog.

I absolutely adore Wichita, that being said, I'm glad my kids will not be attending school there for various reasons I'm sure you can all guess. My husband commutes to work every day and the kids and I are left to our own activities. I don't sit around and drink wine, gossip about my friends, or have plastic surgery, like the TV portrays suburban women. I belong to several "mommy groups" my son goes to preschool, we got to the library every week and have met a great group of people in our new town.

Back to loving Wichita, the 15 minute drive to Target is awesome! Not to mention the unlimited activities and restaurants available. My husband doesn't share my love, he only likes the close proximity to the city. He loves the outdoors and hasn't quite found his place in this new setting. It will happen in time I'm sure.

So now I hope you all don't think I'm your stereotypical housewife as mentioned above, I actually very seldom take off my sweatpants unless I'm leaving the house, but that's a post for another day.

Good night all!

My Husband is the greatest husband

I mentioned in my post last night that my Hubby offered me a night off from the kids and potty training. I wasn't going to take him up on it mainly b/c (primarily i didn't know where i would go seeing as how i don't have many non-mom friends) yesterday didn't go too badly I didn't think I needed it, but today was a whole different story. B/c it was only day #2 of potty training, we hadn't gone anywhere for 2 days for fear of leaving a mess somewhere and the embarrassment of cleaning it up not to mention the extra clothes and other various objects I would have to pack in my already overflowing mom bag. I was feeling the effects of cabin fever today. My frustration level that I was so good about keeping under control yesterday came to a head today not to mention my daughter was constantly screaming over everything. I sent my husband a text in the afternoon saying if the offer was still on the table I was collecting. So for the past 2 hours I've been sitting in a booth at Panera Bread where I enjoyed a leisurely dinner, a cookie (the whole thing for me!) and a book.

My husband is awesome and is always looking out for me. I only wish I was half as good at returning the favors.

Potty training: Day 2

The Hubby and I were firm in our decision to go "hard core" w/ potty training our son at the first of the year. Yesterday was the first day of underwear only (he'd been wearing diapers and pull ups). It isn't that he doesn't know when he has to go, the problem is that he's lazy and can't tear himself away from his toys or TV when he has to go. The first day saw a couple accidents and 2 successes. I fear it will take longer for the #2 to happen in the potty which means lots of poop scrubbing for mom.

My Hubby returned to work today so I was on my own to handle the pee party. I am proud to say I kept my temper and frustration in check today in spite of the many accidents/messes. (One of my resolution's!)

I learned a few things today I'll share w/ all of you:
1) Socks are not a good idea no matter what the temperature is.

2) Those plastic pants seem fool proof until your kid actually pees in them. They really just catch the pee and when your kid pulls them down, dumps pee all over the floor and their legs. I have a pair sitting in my bathtub now waiting to be rinsed and washed. Good thing I have 3 extra pairs.

3) I will never know the most effective way to wash poop out of underwear. I was able to dump some in the toilet but what do you do w/ the rest? Yesterday I attempted to wipe it off w/ toilet paper but it became tricky when I would try and rip off a new piece of tp. I didn't think it was a good idea to rinse them in the sink, who wants poop washed down their drain? And I'm not throwing them away.

I usually do 1 load of laundry a day, some days 2, but the last 2 days I've done 2 extra loads. I thought I'd wait until the end of the day and throw all the pee soaked items in the wash at once, but after that first accident this morning at 11 AM, I decided I didn't want those clothes sitting around gathering a stench.

I also spent more time than I'm comfortable w/ looking at my son's butt. After the poop accidents, I had to make sure he was wiped clean and rather than make him lie down on the bathroom floor (where there was no doubt pee residue and God knows what else), I chose to sit on the edge of the tub and wipe his butt. My son doesn't like to be wiped, as a result (or defensive pose), he clenches. So I had to literally separate his cheeks to make sure he was poop free. Not the highlight of my day as you can imagine.

A note about my amazing and supportive Hubby: he asked me what I wanted to do tomorrow night to give myself the night off from 2 days of potty training madness. I thought that was incredibly sweet.

Anyone else have horror stories to share?