A New Life For All

On October 2 ND 2007 I gave birth to my third son Tyler. It was the start of his new life and mine. I didn't know it yet but I had worked my last day of work in the workplace and was soon to be a stay at home mom. Not only was I still getting use to the whole "mom" thing, but now I was going to be challenged with staying home AND being a mom. I had never done those two things at once. My twins had gone to daycare since they were 5 months old and I was the working mom. That is how I knew life.

I had longed for being a stay at home mom. Leisurely lunches with friends, window shopping, re-decorating our home but that wasn't the way it was going to happen. I was thrusted into being the stay at home mom role when I was laid off after my maternity leave. I never even went back for a day. A victim of the housing industry and the recession that still continues today. Not only was I at home now with a brand new baby, but my finical situation was unknown. There would be no lunches, window shopping or re-decorating of the house. I had become house and child bound.

As I sobbed to my husband when we came home from the hospital, I told him that I didn't know what to do all day. I didn't even know what shows they had on during the day. My husband tried to console me by telling me of daytime programming and I seemed to sob harder and harder. I didn't want to watch Oprah and Price Is Right all day. To make things worst my beloved pet cat Maui died six days after I came home from the hospital. She wasn't even there to keep me company.

But I learned to embrace my new life and accept it for what it is. Stay at home mom. I pack school lunches, I shop for kid clothes and I make my house "less messy" now. That is what I do. That is my life now. So two years later and with the discovery of Facebook, I have managed to keep myself busy and somewhat sane. This day is more then a birthday of Tyler's but the day of new beginnings for me as well.

As I sit here and type this, a new fat cat at my feet, a sick child on the couch, another one at school waiting to be picked up and the birthday boy sleeping his afternoon away I think back to the day I had Tyler. I like to also think it was the best 4 days of my life as I laid in the hospital. A spa vacation if you will. There was no boys fighting, no school pick up lines, meals brought to me in bed and I didn't even have to get up to pee (thanks to a catheter). Maybe it was the calm before the storm but I like storms.

A thought on toothpaste

It seems like such a simple idea. Things pop through my head all the time and I think other people must be thinking the same thing. As I look at the globs of aqua colored goop in my bathroom sink, I think to myself " Why not clear toothpaste?" Such a simple idea. Why not? Could people not see it and maybe apply too much? Does aqua mean clean? Why is it such a bad idea to have clear toothpaste? Obviously children can not be expected NOT get that icy blue colored goo all over the bathroom, carpet, towels, vanities and themselves. They are children. I know some adults who have trouble using toothpaste. Why are children expected to use it with such careful practices? Sure I could teach them proper spitting techniques but that would require more time with them in the bathroom.

Anyway, clear toothpaste would correct the whole problem. It is a problem too. As I grow tired of it showing up on my carpet as the my boys lazily roam through the house brushing their teeth. Dangling from their foamy mouths, my carpet is already doomed. The boys never knew it even hit the floor as they make their way back to the bathroom. So then they are banned from leaving the bathroom while brushing their teeth. I stand at the door being the "Bathroom Nazi" making sure they keep every drop of aqua goo in their mouths.

But there is a new problem now. For now it falls on the bathroom floor and the "Bathroom Nazi" has left her post. How does she know this? Well while brushing the family cat, Cody, an odd stiff material seems to be stuck to his fur. I brush harder. He meows. I look harder and notice its....toothpaste. Who did this? The baby? The twins? Where was it? In the living room? Hall? Maybe the stairs? I must find it! Then the mystery seems to come to an conclusion that I should have seen all a long. Our cat, Cody, has taken to sleeping on the bath mat in the bathroom. He must have rolled in the unassuming goo and hence dried on his fur. A minty fresh cat? Why yes I would say that. Actually Colgate Spongbob Squarepants Bubblemint to be exact. Case closed.

All of this could have been avoided if there was clear toothpaste. Sure we would still have to deal with the sticky mess, but at least it wouldn't be that aqua color staring back at me while cleaning it up.

And so it begins...

Well, I don't know what I am doing but I usually don't so this shouldn't be anything different.

I have decided to blog as a way to express myself without damaging anyone. I am on Facebook and status lines just did't seem to do me justice anymore. I need more space. So I extended myself to the blogging world. I don't expect people to really read this. I am using more as a journal to say things that I can not really say to people. I will vent. I will rant. But it will be out of my system and I will get some sort of reward for doing so. That is the purpose of my blog. A place where I can express myself and if someone decides to read it, then maybe they can share the experience with me.

I have learned to laugh at myself and I want people to learn to laugh at themselves as well. I think we take ourselves and our lives too seriously. Live a little. Laugh a little. You will have a better time.