I received a notification from Facebook recently, letting me know that…HEY!!!…we’re going to delete this page you created, forever ago…because WE ARE FACEBOOK…and whatever Facebook wants, FACEBOOK GETS, right?!?! At first, I was all…meh, there hasn’t been any activity on this particular page since 2010…and A LOT has happened, since then…soooo, who cares…g’head, deeeeeeleeeeeete it!!! And then, the logical more smarter part of my brain kicked in (yes, it DOES exist!) and something inside me said….hey, DUMBASS!!!….maybe you should click on over and see what got Facebook all…WE’RE KICKING YOUR PAGE OFFA FACEBOOK…you know…just in case.
Hey look! The year I let my son color the top of his head blue, because it’s funny to think that he’s halfway through boot camp now, but I am and always will be THAT mom!
I called this one, Riptide — dang, that was pretty clever of me (WAS SO!)
I then remembered about Google photos and…HEY!!!…there is a whole BUNCH of stuff backed-up and stored over there, too…in fact, there’s quite a few my kids would NEVER appreciate my posting…as much as I do…RIGHT NOW!!!
Like that one time…in 2013…when we repainted the girls’ room and it was SUPER-clean…for about a week…ahhhhhhh…THOSE were the good old daze, my friends!!!
1980 U.S. Hockey Olympic Gold Medalist Jim Craig and…ummmmm…well, you know, I don’t know who THAT weirdo standing next to him is, sheesh, what a dork!
Oh, and that time I met MY teenage crush, Jim Craig…look it up, youngsters…which brings to mind ALL of the awesome opportunities and partnerships I’ve worked towards, as a blogger, since the beginning of time…including my current full-time job…thanks to this here blip in the blogosphere…BUT…I still look good, DANGIT!!!
And then there are photos that pull at my heart strings…LIKE A VIRTUAL TUG OF WAR…because who knew these little moments would one day bring on HUGE feelings of joy and gratitude, ALL THE FEELS, captured in one photograph.
I think it’s also NO small coincidence that today happens to be Throwback Thursday, weird, right?!? RIGHT?!? Riiiiiiiight. And just think, if it wasn’t for Facebook YELLING AT ME, on a Throwback Thursday, I maybe would’ve missed this opportunity to stop, drop, and scroll through a decade’s worth of This Full House. All the feels. ALL OF THEM!
Because one day…not too far into the distant future…these kids will have kids of their own and…well…my extremely-spoiled grandchildren (by me, of course!) will thank their [insert some really cool and hip grandparent-like term of endearment, I haven’t come up with yet, here] for giving them the opportunity to get to know what their parents were really like…when they were annoying…I mean…tweens and teens…BUT NOT JUST YET!!!
In the meantime, if anyone needs me, I’ll be sitting here watching this video I found of Glen, taken during one of our family hikes this past Spring, when he tried to walk on slightly frozen water — it’s been 7 weeks since he left, it’s hard to believe he’s already halfway through boot camp — I imagine he’ll think worrying about getting his sneakers wet lame now, because Marines, OOHRAH!!
I’ve been blogging for a while — like the equivalent of a Jurassic period of time, in Internet years — and man have things changed since those early days of dialing in and waiting more than a nano-second for your modem to connect, I could:
Clean up breakfast
Take a shower
Or not
And then eat MY breakfast, for lunch
And I’d still have time to pick my two oldest up from pre-school, before FINALLY getting online!
For my first blog post of 2017, however, I’m going to attempt to do what I’ve done for the last 13 years — THIRTEEN years, that’s a WHOLE teenager, you guys! — I’m going to continue to share stuff that will hopefully help OTHER folks feel WAY better about themselves.
Because adulting is hard, right?!?! Not to mention, when you’re already sharing valuable head space with other adults, successfully adulting adultier adults, RIGHT?!?!
[passes remote control, hugs throw pillow a little tighter]
Riiiiiiiiiight.
[cracks knuckles, blows side bangs out of eyes]
You’ve heard of Pregnancy Brain, right?!? How about Mommy Brain, or maybe Momnesia?!? Yep, I feel it pretty safe to say we’ve each experienced bouts of forgetfulness; however, did you know that the severity of these bouts increases exponentially by the number of kids you have living in your house, at the time?!? For example:
Kid #1: Note to self — remember to order multiple copies of school pics, one for each season, because…OMG!…soooooo cute!
Kid #2: Note to self — maybe order the Spring pics only, because…well…they’ve GROWN SO MUCH since September…and they seemed to have gotten a little more pricey (the pics AND the kids) and the Spring pics really DO have the prettiest backgrounds.
Kid #3: DAYUM, SCHOOL PICS ARE ‘SPENSIVE!!!
Kid #4: Wait, what grade are you in, again?!?!
So, today I remembered to order Glen’s (a.k.a. Kid #3) senior photos.
Glen’s senior pic, I think!
Because I just found the reminder (hiding on top of the printer, with the rest of the incoming mail) and we’re late (with ordering pics, not like late late, because NO MORE PREGNANCY BRAIN FOR ME!), we’re 2 months past the DEADLINE, but I felt ZERO guilt when hearing my husband on the phone with the studio, because DAYUM SCHOOL PICS ARE ‘SPENSIVE!
Garth(NHRN): I paid them the balance and they’re going to mail the pics to us!
[blank stare]
Me: Great, and if the grandparents happen to ask about them in a couple of months, I’ll know EXACTLY where to look!
Long story, short: I’m sorry to have to tell you that adulting does NOT get any easier, especially when adulting adult and almost-adult kids, BUT you DO become more forgiving, especially with yourself, so there’s that!
On the other hand: Don’t let someone make you feel like you’re not doing this whole adult thing right, because THEIR KIDS will probably grow up to believe they’ve been doing it ALL wrong too, anyway — YOU’RE WELCOME!!!
On the OTHER other hand: My kids feel real lucky whenever I do get their names right AND thank goodness Kid #4 has made it to her sophomore year…in one piece…or at least, I’m pretty sure she’s a sophomore…ahem.
I’ve always been a big fan of Fridays. In fact, my first published article (outside of this blog) from October 16, 2003 (forever ago, in Internet years) is entitled, “TGIF” and dedicated to all my fellow full-time stay-at-home Moms, who also looked forward to Fridays, as I did, at the time.
Eleventy-three years later, I’m now a full-time working-outside-the-home-type Mom, while my husband plays the role of the stay-at-home parent (way better than I ever did, btw!) who’s grown to truly appreciate the magic of three-day weekends, too!
Last week, I was able to take off the Thursday AND Friday before President’s Day (our office was closed, yesterday) and, well, I was looking forward to spending my mini-vacation of doing absolutely nothing of real importance, with my clan.
Had fun hanging out with the night shift, but hoping to go home sometime later today. And this is where you tell me just how much of a dumbass I am, for not keeping up with filling my bp meds, and I’m all thumbs up in agreement. #dontbelikemekids
Until, my being admitted into the hospital at midnight, this past Friday and, well, there’s a reason why my husband and I don’t really exert very much effort into scheduling to do stuff — for us, life almost always has other plans — although, when it comes to resting up, some people would argue that my being in the hospital sort of forces one’s hand, and to those people I would say…NAAAAAAAH, BRUH!!!…and I would also feel it safe to say…one does not simply rest or relax…in a hospital.
My middle girl came by to sit with me and she brought me presents. She knows her mama, well 🙂
Especially, now that my kids are old enough to recognize when their mother or father (but, mostly their mother) is being a total dumbass, especially about not taking better care of her/himself (again, mostly me) and my BIGGEST takeaway from this latest episode of…DON’T BE LIKE ME, KIDS…is that my kids will call me out, for being a dumbass, in a heartbeat.
Me: So, they’re not letting me go home for another 24 hours.
Middle Girl: Aaaaaand, whose fault is that?
Here’s the thing, the thing is — I haven’t been taking very good care of myself and, although I did have my blood pressure medication refilled AND re-scheduled a follow-up with my cardiologist regarding the same exact issues that caused this latest hospital stay, I realized it a little too late.
Instinct tells me to insert something really ironically funny about my spending Valentine’s Day in the hospital, but heart disease is no joke — my Dad is fighting for his life, as we speak! It did, however, give me an opportunity to think about the last few months…A LOT…and played a HUGE part in holding myself accountable for being THAT dumbass, because I do NOT want to cause my kids any additional heartache, when taking care of a sick parent…not if I can help it…I mean.
26 years, 5 cars, 4 kids, 3 cats, 2 many fish to count and 1 doofus dawg since our blind first date, this truly IS the best Valentine’s Day gift EVER: Receiving a heartfelt text from GarthNHRN, before being wheeled down for my echocardiogram…priceless 🙂
And, honestly, I can’t think of a better way to spend a Valentine’s Day, can you?
[the sound of crickets, chirping]
Fiiiiiiiiine, dinner and a movie would have been pretty awesome.
Getting texted by my 14yo, reminding me to NOT be a dumbass, isn’t too bad, either.
I love sharing information on products and services that perhaps help make life for larger families (like mine) a little easier, or give back to the community, by partnering with brands, networking with writers and connecting with REAL families (ditto) online.
[takes a deep breath]
Here are a few of my favorite projects I’ve worked on and…yes…I do this AND more, ALL from my kitchen table, mostly:
Have you heard of BlogHer? I’ve been a member for…um…what year is it, anyway? All kidding aside (mostly) BlogHer is populated by a great community of women (like me) who happen to enjoy sharing stuff on the Internet AND, more importantly, are inspired by women helping women. Long story short: we make it a habit of supporting each other…both online and IRL.
I missed out on the #BlogHer OG (original Gangstuh) by two years, but I have attended: BlogHer 2007, 2008, 2009 and, along with my dear friend @BusyMom, risked riding in a NYC ambulance in order to save a fellow blogger at BlogHer 2010 (seriously, you just can’t make some of this stuff up!) oh, and I left my heart in San Deigo during BlogHer 2012; began working with the Events Team as a contractor for BlogHer 2013 and BlogHer 2014;attended BlogHer 2015 as a full-time SheKnows employee!
In 2016 and 2017, I’ve had the EXTREME pleasure of working once again with the fabulous BlogHer Events Team, as the Senior Sponsor Experience Manager for #BlogHer, #BlogHerFood!
I know, right?!?! Full circle!!!! I have been a member of the #BlogHer community since the very beginning. Fun fact: This Full House is a charter member of their ad network, true story! Sooooo, I am so very proud and thrilled to continue my work in helping to promote our blogging community, one that I have grown to love AND adopt as family, because what’s one more, right?!?!
I attended my first blogging event in October 2007 as a guest speaker for the Disney Corporate Alliance Conference in Anaheim, CA which also gave me the opportunity to meet a longtime blogger friend, IRL.
Although I have since attended many, many, and oh so many more blogging events over the years, connecting with like-minded individuals (i.e. real parents, doing the best they can) never gets old. Here are a few events where the organizers actually asked me to say something…on purpose:
This Full House partnered with the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) in promoting their new online search tool — the kids and I are featured on their b-roll and official press release dated 11/12/08:
This is where I share some really cool stuff folks have said and/or written about me (yes, ME!) and, well, everyone could use a little linky love byte, every now and again, thankyouverymuch!
So honored to have been a part of the #Blogust12 campaign: 31 bloggers reached their goal of 10,000 comments in 31 days to protect 10,000 children from diarrhea, pneumonia, polio and measles. Enough said!
Liz Thompson, a mom of four, told ABCNEWS.com that she “can’t remember a darn thing anymore.” “When I take the kids to the doctor and they ask how old they are or when their birthdays are, I have to ask the kids,” said Thompson, who writes for the New Jersey Moms’ Blog. “The more children you have the less brain cells you’re left with at the end of the day.”
Liz Thompson, a five-year veteran of the New Jersey mom-blogging scene, will be among the contributors. The Monmouth County mother of four has a blog, thisfullhouse.com, to share her thoughts and observations on parenting, product reviews, and teaching kids how to blog.
Her 100-plus visitors a day can compete for product giveaways – this month, a video camera. And as professional as her blog has become, the income she makes from sponsorship and other traditional advertisements is hardly enough to pay for groceries and gas, Thompson said.
“If I’m able to get a little bit out of it, that’s great,” Thompson said. “That’s not why I do it, though. I just love to write, and I love that a blog gives you the chance to have a different discussion with different people every day.”
My husband Garth (not his real name) and I were talking while doing the dishes, yesterday…because it’s one of the very few times we can pretty much guarantee ourselves some privacy, at our house.
PSA: Teens have a hard time figuring out when the dishwasher is clean (or dirty) unless they are specifically told the dishwasher NEEDS to be changed and then they suddenly (and very mysteriously) become SEVERELY allergic to doing the dishes.
Aaaaaanyway, I was doing the math…WHAT?!?…it COULD happen…and realized Garth (not his real name) and I had just celebrated our 25th Thanksgiving, together.
Which is REAL weird, considering we only recently got married…in my head, anyway…AND don’t EVEN get me started on how it’s possible we could have 4 teenagers in the house?!?!
Fiiiiiiiiine, the oldest is twenty-something…I’m in denial…A’IGHT?!?!
Aaaaaaanyway, I get all mushy, gushy and squishy around the holidaze — okay, more than usual — and I seemed to have passed on some of the mushy-gushy-squishy genes to my kids…in varying degrees, of course.
Youngest: Time to break out the Christmas movies, which one do we watch first?!?!
It’s a family tradition, that dates back to I don’t remember when, but it just doesn’t feel like Thanksgiving…unless someone is fighting over which one of the Christmas movies to watch…first.
Garth(NHRN): Christmas Vacation.
On this one, Daddy wins.
Middle Girl: What movie should we watch, next?!?!
I only wanted to close my eyes for a few minutes (dang you, turkey coma!), but I somehow managed to sleep right through Christmas Vacation and…well…I’ve seen it enough times and could probably recite the entire movie…but I won’t…you’re welcome!
Oldest: How about we see what’s on these old VHS tapes?
Last year, I found a couple of unmarked tapes and tossed them into the bucket.
Me: Uh-oh!!!
[blank stares]
Me (to my husband): I dunno, you think it’s safe?!?!
It was the first day of kindergarten. My grandmother dropped us off at the front door and I still remember my begging her to take me back home with her.
It's not like the school would miss me, there were tons of other kids waiting in line AND none of them had a twin brother…like I do.
My brother, however, was totally on board with kindergarten — because the school had a playground and naptime was mandatory. How bad COULD it be?
Still. I had this plan:
We would alternate going to school.
My brother would go on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
I would do Tuesdays and Thursdays.
WHAT?!? He liked school way better, remember?
On our days off, we would help my grandmother with the housework.
On weekends, my brother and I would teach each other what we learned.
Aaaaaaand, if that didn't work, I would then try and sell my brother to them…for free!
Brrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiing.
Too late. The bell rang, my brother and I were separated and I followed Mrs. Rivers into her classroom; it smelled of wet chalkboard and paste.
"Why are you smelling the Play Doh, Mommy?"
I have very few childhood memories, that aren't triggered by some sort of smell or taste (no, I did NOT eat the paste…they were using Elmer's glue!) so dropping each of my kids off for their first day of Kindergarten was a WHOLE DIFFERENT experience.
"Feel free to go home now, Mrs. Thompson."
For ALL of us.
"Duuuuude, we were listening to the radio at the office."
I was driving home with my 18yo…or maybe it was to the doctor's office…wait, no, I think we were picking up her 20yo sister at work…because her car was in the shop…AGAIN!…and WHEN in the stinking heck did THESE KIDS get old enough to drive AND work…**sniff-sniff**…my sense of smell is not what it used to be, either…doesn't matter.
"Aaaaaaand, the ladies were all SHOCKED when I started singing along!"
Not that she's shy (stop laughing, Melisa!) and she works with a very lovely bunch of ladies…all moms…around my age.
"They wanted to know how and why an 18yo would love 80's music so much?!?"
Raising 4 teens (okay, fine, you caught me, the oldest is in her 20's, I'm in denial!) a lot of people have asked me about the hardest part of being a parent and I tell them the same thing: forgetting that I'm supposed to be the adult!
"I told them how you would play 80's music in the car, picking us up and dropping us off at school, every day."
See?!? I can fake being an adult, real good!!!
"Aaaaaand, I told them how we would ALL sing together REAL LOUD with the windows wide open and everything!"
This, my friends, I'm claiming as a parenting win…right there…yes?!? And it's all because this song came on the radio:
She gets it from me. OH!!! Aaaaaand, then…there was this one time in Kindergarten…when I tried sell my twin brother…but you know that story, already…right?!?
It's here, it's here! Time to turn those calendars (HARD!) and kick-off a fresh, new month with a blogging challenge, yes?!? Then again, maybe you should NOT be listening to me.
You see, I sort of triple-dog dared my friend Patti at Easton Place Designs to join me in April…then she went and ACTUALLY blogged…every…damn…day…in April…and I sort of fizzled out…around the 8th or 9th, I think…because, I'm more of a DON'T DO WHAT I DID sort of bloggity-mentor, like that…YO!!!
Sooooo, if you're like me (figuratively speaking, because not many people can handle THAT much dork) and are frequented by bouts of writer's block (because, TEENS!), there are daily prompts to help us blog along with this month's theme: MNEMONIC.
Today's writing prompt: What tools do you use to keep organized so things on your to-do list don't slip through the cracks?
Oh, I got this!!! One of the BEST tools I use to keep myself on point with my work to-do-list: logging out of my personal social media accounts.
I've got a major problem with…SQUIRRELS!!!
So, yah. That's right. I blame YOU GUYS for my being totally unproductive — soooo, quit being so gosh-darned interesting, already.
On the other hand: if it weren't for Facebook being down and my IMMEDIATELY heading over to Twitter to find out why and verify…AYUP!…the #FacebookDown hashtag was already trending…I wouldn't have seen my friend Lizz's tweet:
Aaaaaaand, then I was all like…OH YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT… it's August 1st…oh and hey…maybe I'll try NaBloPoMo-ing it, again…so, here we are.
Long story, short: welcome to my brain! And this is the part where you should begin to feel really, really lucky that you don't HAVE to live with me, or my brain.
[sound of crickets, running for the backdoor]
On the OTHER other hand: can we all just agree that being "organized" is totally a subjective term and…SQUIRREL?!?!?!
I'm NaBloPoMo-ing it this month, feel free to check out what I've NaBloPoMo-ed, so far. Oh and just so you know, I'm unplugging on weekends and going blog free, because family time is also very…SQUIRREL!!!
Our middle daughter loves New England and has always dreamed of attending Boston University, since she was in middle school. So, we made an appointment to take a tour of the campus and drove up to Massachusetts, late last night.
Heather is a senior, so we’re smack-dab in the middle of the college applications rush, but it is only the second college tour, we’ve taken so far.
She attends one of four specialized vocational academies, which has more of an accelerated curriculum than our home high school. This has proven to be both a blessing and a curse — especially to a Type A personality, like Heather.
Long story, short: the girl is a hot mess.
Boston University is on a short list of her top three choices, including NYU (took our tour, last month) and Northeastern University, which is also here in Boston.
Did I mention, the girl LOVES Boston?!?
Except, this time, she wasn’t really acting all that excited and I thought maybe it was because we were running on about 4 hours sleep or…even worse…she was just too tightly wrapped up inside, to enjoy the moment.
I kept nudging her with my elbow and whispering, “Wow, isn’t THIS cool?!?” and “How awesome is THAT, right?!?”
Wasn’t it just yesterday he was teaching her how to walk?!?
Guess what?!? No matter how HARD you try, you cannot pass along enthusiasm — especially, through your elbow — so, I decided to hang back and was able to capture this awesome moment with her dad.
Even longer story, short: she finally admitted (to her dad) to NOT being “blown away” by the B.U. tour (or not being as excited as she was about NYU, anyway) and how she simply felt AWFUL about it.
“Aaaaaand, we came ALL this way, I’m sorry.”
Later, after a little talking and A LOT more walking, my husband and I were able to finally convince her that it was SO NOT a wasted trip and, in fact, I suggested that she consider it as an investment in her future, instead — because Type A’s like it when you get all analytical, like that.
“Besides, if I do choose NYU, it means I could come home for weekends.”
Of course, I couldn’t help but agree…HOW AWESOME IS THAT, RIGHT?!?…and it’s always a real good idea to have a Plan B…C…D…or how EVER many it takes…because we’ve got until December 1st…and us Type B’s are super-easy-going, like that.
I’m NaBloPoMo-ing it, feel free to check out what I’ve NaBloPoMo-ed, so far (PHEW!) and let me know how I’m doing (I mean, 30 posts, in 30 days, really?!?) when you have time, of course!
