The year in pictures

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Jackie

While going through my reader the other day (Yes, I do go through it on occasion) I happened upon a post from Ashley from My Front Porch Swing and then the same one from Jessica over at Four Plus an Angel and decided to play along! I mean 12 pictures or my favorite posts from the year… how much easier can it get?

January brought Andrew’s first birthday! It seems so long ago but it was only a year…. and what a difference a year makes.

February brings Valentine’s Day… need I say more?

March and my little girl turned 9 and brought Flat Lauren to the party!

April at my parents house for Easter and the girls were on a scavenger hunt that their grandma puts together every year for them.

May! And my first ever blogging conference! I made the trip…. all2 hrous of it to Holland Michigan for Gleek Retreat where I met some incredible women all from Michigan! That’s me along with Elena from Mommy’s in Timeout and Katie from Sluiter Nation!

In June all three of my girls took part in one of the parades that take place every year during the Curwood Festival. I was a proud mama watching all of them march!

The heat of July is only intensified by sitting by the ball field while you watch your kids play for what seems like hours on end.

August brought another conference for me and this time it was Bloggy Bootcamp. If you ever have a chance to go to one of these GO! Seriously it was incredible! Here I am with so great friends from Michigan! Dutch Being Me, Mommy is in Time Out, Daily Dribbles, and Buried with Children.

First day of school for September of course.

October was warm… on occasion and the day we carved pumpkins the kids all made their way outside and spent the afternoon playing together and carving pumpkins.

Every year in November the high school marching band puts on one final performance of the marching season indoors. Yes, indoors! Where it’s warm & we can enjoy it. It is truly one of the best events during the year.

And that brings us to December. And with it being the holidays and all I bet you’re tired of seeing all those happy holiday type pictures so instead of that I’ve decided to grace you with the Pimp of Greek Town. Now, I have no idea what his name is or if he really is a pimp but I HAD to take a picture of this. We took a trip to Detroit for my daughter’s 16th birthday and I have to say that this was probably the highlight of the day!

So there you have it folks…12 pictures from the past year. I do have to say that I loved going through all the pictures from the year and seeing how the kids have changed and grown, the places we’ve been, and all the fun we had. Picking just one picture for each month was hard because I wanted to share so much more with you all.

How was your year? Have you had time to sit and look back at all your pictures yet?

On being a mom

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Jackie

Before I was a mom there were very few things that I worried about. I was young, carefree, and was enjoying my life from one minute to the next without pondering the future too much. I wandered the mall with friends, shopped, and ate lunch where ever we wanted while evenings were spent bar hopping or at the movies. Summers at the beach and winters hitting the slopes.

As a mom my life changed considerably. Carefree wasn’t part of who I was anymore and the way I thought, acted, and who I was as a whole changed.

There were feelings that would wash over me like no other and they still do. As a mom you are full of joy, love, fear, worry, concern, happiness, and your head will spin in circles as each day passes. It’s a roller coaster ride and one that I never thought that I would be on and one that I am enjoying every minute of.

My days and nights are filled with my children, the little loves of my life.

There are times though that I find myself day dreaming of free time. Time to do whatever I want and whenever I would like to do it and I can’t imagine that I am the only mom that has ever felt that way. But I find a few stolen moments here and there to call my own where I can simple be me again. A few moments to center myself and start again as mom.

I find myself hoping that I’ve done all that I can to show my children how much I love them. I hope that I have taught them well. I hope that I’ve been a good mom. I have so many hopes & dreams for them …. as well as fears, which I think is all part of being a mom.

Being a mom can be the most challenging job out there without a doubt, but it can also be the most rewarding thing that you ever do. I promise!

There are days I wonder if I have even done anything right…. between the fighting, back talking, and the spitting toddler I find myself wondering where in the world I went wrong. I wonder if I’m cut out for this job of being mom sometimes.

Then it’s the simple things can brighten a moms day and make her heart swell with joy…. a smile from their baby, laughter from a toddler, an achievement at school, and just about everything in between. From an infant all the way through teenage years there is always something that my children can do or say that makes me smile everyday. It’s the little joys that get me through to the next day.

Without children I don’t know where I would be or what I would be doing. Honestly, it’s something that I haven’t even considered!

Is being a mom everything you thought it would be?

Andrew, Santa, and I

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Jackie

Every year we pass by the center of the mall where Santa has set up shop and is surrounded by a magical winter wonderland. I watch the families as they wait patiently or not so patiently for their turn to talk with Santa so they can explain those bad moments, elaborate on the good, and tell him everything they want on the never ending list. I look at them with fond memories of doing the same thing with my girls when they were younger, but now they’re older and don’t fully believe in Santa.

As luck would have Andrew believes in Santa! He recognizes the big man and will look at me with his head titled slightly and says, “anta?” Other times he smiles and says, “ho, ho, ho”. It’s all beyond cute!

We braved the mall to have our turn with Santa. But this time I planned ahead! I didn’t want to stand in that line, weaving in and out of the ropes that help form the line, for an hour or more with a 2 year old who can’t sit still. We left early and got to the mall just before the stores opened and Santa had just arrived. We were first in line and there was nobody after us.

We had plenty of time to make our way carefully up to Santa. Andrew was enthralled with the animated deer and fake snow that surrounded Santa’s chair and had to check it all out. Finally, I was able to get him closer and he stopped, pointed and said, “anta.” He refused to get any closer to the big man. This was my fear…. I really was hoping that we’d get a good picture… but he wanted nothing to do with him.

Eventually we made it to Santa but it was only because I had to pick him up and walk over there. Andrew was glued to me and his little arms weren’t letting go for nothing. Nope, the cute Santa picture wasn’t happening.

Thankfully the photographer was great and we got a picture!

Yes, that’s me in the picture. It was the only way that we could get Andrew close to Santa. Better than nothing right?

Good thing I got ready that morning!

Lessons Learned ~ Toddlerhood

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Jackie

After becoming a parent again, this time to a boy, I’ve had to relearn a lot of things. As time has passed I think I’ve done pretty good… I mean he’s still alive and laughing so I’m doing something right. Right?

So we’ve made it to the toddler stage and more importantly the terrible two’s. This stage is appropriately named too, because I’d rather deal with my teen and almost teen any day instead of my toddler. I should also mention that little boys are very different than little girls. There is no comparison at all… night & day, oil & water, yin & yang… whatever you want to call it. Boys are a challenge put nicely.

The Toddler

Alright, so here are a few things that I’ve learned recently.

1. When you get upset and just don’t have the words to describe how you feel. Spit. Yes, spit. Get right in your sisters face and spit on her. You feel better and she just walks away from you.

2. Screaming is also good to get your point across. It’s even better if you wait until someone is really close and get close to their ear when you scream.

3. Clothes are always optional. Especially pants.

4. Socks are for your hands not your feet. Duh.

5. Food tastes a lot better when it’s dumped off of the plate and placed directly on the high chair tray.

6. Coffee tables are meant to be stood on and jumped off of.

7. Nail polish looks good all over your hand and arm. And don’t think that tightening the lid will help… any toddler can get it off. They’re ingenious creatures.

8. Peeing on the floor and then looking at your mom while you point at it and say “Mess!” is always fun.

9. Using all the baby wipes to clean everything in the house while running around saying “Mess!” is fun. Guess mom didn’t clean well enough… thanks for helping.

10. All electronic equipment belongs to the toddler. I know this because he holds the remote(s), phones, etc and says “Mine”.

There may be a few more but I don’t want to scare anyone who hasn’t hit this incredible stage especially if they have boys. Mine could just be special and I’m getting paid back for something terrible I did as a child….. Although I doubt that’s the case because I know that I was a great kid!

I think that maybe this is karma for laughing at the antics my sister’s boys have pulled. For the past couple of years it’s been really entertaining to hear her war stories of life with two little boys and now I’ve been ~~cursed~~ blessed with my own boy. I know that I’ll make it through because she is still sane and doesn’t drink excessively… yet (she thinks she deserves sainthood).

Alright, now share with me a few things I have to look forward to that I may have forgotten (or repressed those memories) in the next year or two.

One to remember

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Jackie

Every year I hope to get one perfect picture of my kids together during the holidays. It’s the one time of the year that I can almost guarantee that they’ll all be dressed up and some what coordinating…. Yes, I know I can try other times of the year but I have teens so that should be enough explanation, ok?

Anyway, this past weekend we had our first holiday gathering and I brought my camera along and snapped pictures here and there and when the kids were standing near each other I took that opportunity to take a couple of them together.

Is this the one to remember? Nope. It was missing their brother who is in a constant state of motion unless he is asleep.

Oh look!! Two of them are smiling nicely! Andrew obviously didn’t want his picture taken and I think Natalie was talking to someone near me. So, this one isn’t the one to remember.

After the last picture I gave up. One day I will but until then I have all these cute and silly pictures of my kids that remind me of exactly who they are. They sweet, smart, fun loving, honest, and most all … they’re mine. I love them all more than they’ll ever know. So while I may never get that one perfect picture the ones I have are all ones to remember.

I am linking up with Allison and Galit for some great fun and fond memories that we’ve all captured. It took me all week to get to it but I finally did it!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Camera Bandits

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Jackie

A word to the wise…… Never leave your camera unattended…..

Children will get a hold of it and figure out how to use it. Whether it’s your phone, plain jane digital camera, or your prized possession… your DSLR.

Did she take this herself or did she let her little sister do it?

Look at them…. all cute and nice looking. But don’t let them fool you.. they’re camera bandits.

They sneak in when you’re ~~Tweeting~~ busy dealing with the toddler and start their game.

Picture after picture until the fun is done and then they place everything back exactly they way they found it. And one day when you finally pull pictures off of the camera you find them. The evidence.

Camera bandits have struck again.

Readers Night

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Jackie

Once a month one of the local schools hosts a program called Readers from Birth which focuses on introducing books and reading to kids.

I had heard about the program before but thought that maybe Andrew was to young to go even though it is for kids from birth. This week I gave in and took him along with my grandmother in law, cousin in law and her 2 year old daughter.

I have to say that I was a little concerned because Andrew doesn’t sit still for anything…. ever. And on top of that when we’ve taken him to the mall and let him run around the play area with other kids he’s had the tendency to get a little.. rough. Like full on shoving and that is usually our cue to leave before I become one of those moms. I didn’t want to go to an event and have him run around like a crazy kid or start pushing people around.

We went and it was pretty neat that they had everything all set up for a craft…. I think it was more for the parents since my cousin and I ended up doing most everything aside from a little of the coloring from the kids. Although, Andrew did like helping with the glue stick.

I love how the event is run by pre-school teachers who were great with the kids and seemed to really enjoy what they were doing even after spending the entire day with little kids.

The teachers believe in reading and starting from a young age is important so once a month they put on this program and share reading with all the kids.

They simply didn’t read the books to the kids. They made it fun and interactive with felt boards, songs, dancing, and puppets. The music and dancing with the puppets was one of Andrew’s favorite parts of the night as you can tell by the blurry picture.

Something that came as a surprise to me was that he actually sat down for a couple minutes and almost paid attention to the story! I think that it was more because all the other kids sat down and listened first, but as I suspected it didn’t take long for him to give up on that sitting still thing and get up to run around.

Once all the stories & songs were done they passed out juice and cookies for all the kids. My kid… the odd one… wouldn’t eat the cookie covered in frosting and sprinkles. A Lofthouse cookie to be exact! It’s okay… I didn’t let it go to waste.

What a better way to spend the evening than playing with kids your own age (one of them being your cousin), drinking juice, and reading the new book that they gave everyone!

I think that he had fun and it’s a great way to introduce kids to books and reading. Next month we’ll be going again!

Do you take your little ones to reading night or a similar event?

There’s no place like….

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Jackie

I heard something the other day…. there’s no place like… and of course it got me thinking. There’s no place like what? A lot of places came to mind.

Of course the random thoughts came into mind like the Wizard of Oz but the I was back on track after a moment.

So there’s no place like what? What comes to mind first?

Home. Of course there’s no place like home.

Walking into your home after a long day at work or after being away on vacation is comforting. It’s the sight of the pictures of your friends and family welcoming you, the messes you left, or the perfect organization you have. It’s the smell that is unique to your home, again welcoming you in. Your home is special and always a place you can relax, laugh, and play with your family.

Carving pumpkins at home

There’s no place like…. the beach.

The sun shining down on the sand warming it so when you walk on it your feet are enveloped in the heat or the water glistening with each ray of light that hits it. The beach is a wonderful place to sit back, relax with a book in one hand and a drink in the other. It’s also a great place to spend the day splashing in the surf with the kids, building sand castles, and eating a picnic lunch. The beach can be almost anything you want it to be and what’s even better is that they’re all over… whether it’s the beach at a local lake or the white sandy beaches on a tropical island there really is not place like it.

My kids on the beach in Mackinaw City

There’s no place like…. cuddling with a baby.

Cuddles from a baby are amazing. They make you feel safe & warm even though you’re the adult holding the baby. Holding a baby brings a smile to your face and can brighten anyone’s day no matter how bad it’s been. Holding a baby is love… pure and simple and there’s nothing like the joy you feel when holding your baby for the first time.

Holding my newborn

There’s nothing like… sleeping in a big bed alone.

I love this! I love being able to make the bed perfectly and then climb in and position myself right in the middle. The comfort of the cool sheets below me and the weight of all the blankets and comforters above me. There’s nothing like being able to spread out in bed… diagonal, across the middle, or however you want. Now this is not to say that sleeping with my husband is a bad thing but every once in a while when he’s gone I look forward to that time where I can hog the entire bed, pillows, and blankets!

There’s no place like….what? Well, it’s your turn so tell me!

Proud Mommy Moment ~ In the band

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Jackie

Today I’m linking up with Kmama, a good friend of mine that I got the privilege of meeting a couple weeks ago in Chicago at Bloggy Bootcamp, to tell you about one of my proud mommy moments.

Band is a big thing around here and they take it seriously. It’s so big that if you’re not in the band here you’re nobody!

Since the beginning of August my daughter has been at school along with over 200 students at band camp. They been marching and marching through the blazing heat, the rain, and oddly enough through thunder storms and funnel clouds. No worries…. they sent the kids inside and then home. But the kids are dedicated and have put in a lot of work to remain one of the number one high schools in their district.

This is the first year that my daughter is marching with the Trojan marching band (TMB). Freshman aren’t allowed to march and at the end of the year take a playing & marching test before they can get into TMB… see I told you they’re serious here. To say that I’m a proud mama is to say the least.

Caitlin has been in band since she was in the 5th grade and has been first chair & unchallenged since the day she started. She’s excelled in band, as well as other classes, and has won several ribbons for her achievements in various competitions. Honestly, she’s good enough to do something with her music after high school.

This past Friday was the first football game of the season which means that it was also the first performance of the TMB and I was that mom. You know the one in the stands fully dressed in the team colors with multiple camera’s and of course the iPhone in which to quickly share pictures of my kids out of the football field.

That's Caitlin... front & center.

That night I took 2 or 3 videos and over 100 pictures of my daughter, the band, and the football game. See… I told you that I was that mom! But in my defense I wasn’t the only parent that was doing it!

I was lucky and was able to get great seats right on the 35 yard line, 3 rows up right in front of where she was standing for many of the songs that they played. Notice the crooked hat… I asked about that and they’re not allowed to adjust it, brush hair out of their face, sweat off their brow, or anything like that. So she marched with her hat like that for that entire routine.

The majority of the band watching the game

When they’re not playing the band sits in the end zone in bleachers that are specifically for the band. They play when there’s a touch down & at other important moments in the game (yea, I don’t know all technical details just that they play).

So tonight (I know it’s a Thursday game because of the holiday weekend) I’ll be in the bleachers with my cameras in hand again taking pictures and video of the band and my daughter. Why? Because I’m a proud mom!

Size Matters…

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Jackie

Today is special day. Why you ask? Well because it’s the first link up for Just Be Enough! When Elena started this I quickly offered to help in whatever way I could and she took me up on my offer as well that of several other women.

We are wives. We are moms. We are employees. We are daughters. We are sisters. More than that…. We are enough.

Every MONDAY join us…
Write, Post, Link-Up, share your story and your voice.
Be part of carrying the weight of confidence, empowerment and share our mission to empower, inspire, and remind
women, parents and children
that the time has come to celebrate ourselves!

How you have lived the Be Enough Me feeling this week?

At one time in my life I was tall, thin, and could eat anything that I desired and not one bit of it slide to my hips or butt. It was a perfect life.

And then one day I found out I was pregnant and yet it didn’t faze me until the day I gave birth and weighed in at 183 lbs. which gave me a weight gain of almost 50 lbs. Yes, that’s a hell of a lot of weight. And I thought it was no big deal and that I’d just lose it and all would well in the world again.

Little did I know that it wasn’t that easy and that while I did lose some of it that I’d quickly gain it back again with the next baby and the following two after that.

:::sigh::: So, fast forward some 15 years and 4 kids later and I’ve found I am now at weight that doesn’t make me happy. Not at all. But I’ve also realized that I’m close to 40, have a desk job, and love to cook & eat and because of that losing the weight has become more of a challenge. I don’t know what to call it other than damn hard.

Here’s the other thing. I want my girls to know that size doesn’t matter and that what matters is being healthy, taking care of yourself, and eating right. Being that perfect size 4 that you see in the magazine isn’t what the average woman looks like… Why? Because that woman has been airbrushed to perfection. I want them to know that being who you are is enough. Size doesn’t matter.

So, I’ve been trying to make better choices when it comes to meals, what I eat, and what I serve them. I need to set the example for my kids and by doing that I am showing them that they can be enough.

With Just a Bit of Magic

Category Archives: Kids