looking glass

I'm leading in the "worst mom ever" race. I sent Giada to school without a blanket for nap time. We bring the blankie home on Fridays to clean it and on Mondays, in the rush of the morning, I inevitably forget it more times than not. If I put it by the stairs the night before, I do ok. Obviously, this did not happen this weekend. When I picked her up from school she told me that she got to be in the big kid room again and hang with the 4 year olds. She went on to tell me that during nap, she didn't have her blankie so her teacher got her jacket to cuddle with. Her jacket? How pathetic as that?

What comforts me is different from day to day. It could be as simple as an amazing cup of coffee or fighting for what I believe in. I'm forever in awe of those people that seem to have their hands in everything and it all goes off without a hitch. They work a full time job, have well rounded children, eat organically and plan perfect parties. They always have time to be on committees and run the parent -teacher association with their eyes closed. Nobody questions them because on the surface, they are as pretty and glossy as a new magazine.





Some days, that is me. I am confident and the best multi-tasker out there. I'm working, I'm cleaning, I'm making cookies and attending events. Then I look over at two weeks of clean laundry folded and still sitting in laundry baskets begging me to put them away before I have to re-fold them for the second time. I need to know that I am living life and that is why I try to be busy and involved. It makes those days of calm so much sweeter but it makes me hate the things that fall between the cracks even more.

I love that reflection and experience is finally in sync with some of my decisions. I used to worry that I might get caught not being all glossy and pretty and although that thought is still in the back of my head most of the time, I have relaxed a bit. I can laugh at myself most times but there are always be those things that get under my skin. For as much as I have progressed, I continually question my reactions to things.

no jacket required

It was forecast that we would have snow last week. I didn't believe it but you couldn't escape the reports and headlines...." It's no April Fools joke.....snow on the way". Really, is that the most pressing news? Sorry, but we've got bigger fish to fry here. April means baseball.

Sitting on the couch about seven feet from my hubby and the Mets season opener is on the TV. Let me clarify. The game is on in Hi-Def, the TV setting is on Dynamic and the surround sound is on. My husband is so into this game that my commentary is like white noise and for him to pay any attention to me, I need to cup my hands together around my mouth megaphone-style and speak slowly and clearly. Even then, the reception is questionable.

Welcome to baseball season. I should consider myself lucky to have married a Mets fan. I grew up in a household where the only rule concerning baseball was that you cannot root for the Yankees. No exceptions. Being a native New Yorker I have always favored the Mets and if I had to pick an American League team, it would have to be the Boston Red Sox. Yeah, yeah....I know...what a mix but I wear the logos of each team with pride. The biggest technological advance when it comes to baseball, I believe, is DVR. We can still live our life and watch the game as time allows. If a certain 3 year old decides to be a chatterbox in the middle of a play, [PAUSE] and you can still rewind and watch. Phew! (If we don't get to it, the Mets Fast Forward is a quick way keep you current and keep you from wasting away hours in front of the green glow of the TV.)

In between games and beers, we did manage to get some chores done and find room for fun as well. Kris and I were fighting off a cold and we had another busy week so sleeping in would have been wonderful but when you have a hungry dog and hungry little girl, that is not really an option. Lacking the energy to even leave the bed, I told Giada to go get her own breakfast. I didn't really expect her to get anything but I hoped it would allow me to snag a few more minutes in bed. I listened as she opened drawers, cabinets, the refrigerator and the pantry. I didn't hear a chair being dragged across the floor to allow her access to the counter so I figured she wasn't getting into too much trouble. Have I mentioned that she has stealth technology? I swear, you hear nothing and then, boom! she's standing right next to you. That's what happened with breakfast. The rumblings in the kitchen, then she's next to me with a container of mixed fruit and a spoon. I have to give her props on the fruit and she brought her own spoon but I was hoping she'd be gracious enough to bring something to share.






We have crocuses growing. Of all the flowers and bulbs we have planted, crocuses are the ones that never fail to appear. In order to fully appreciate these tell-tale signs of spring, we had to cut back our huge lavender plants. I love fresh lavender so even though I know it will flourish once the summer hits, it kills me to cut so much of it off. I trimmed up some other plantings and weeded what I could before throwing in the towel. I rounded up Kris and Giada and the three of us took a short drive to the elementary school so the 'practicing of the bike' event could commence.
She rocked that bike. "We very like riding our bikes, right?" Hells yeah, we like it.


In between passes on the bike, we took a break to kick the ol' soccer ball around.






Back on the farm, we took some time to play around on the quad before it becomes the summer work horse. We splashed through puddles and spun up a bit of mud and generally had a good time.



Lunch outside, no jackets and time together. Pretty good recipe for a great weekend.