This Full House Archive

Tag: new jersey mom bloggers

Note to self: for the days you feel like you’re not doing a good job, read this blog post!

Two out of four of my kids are not very happy with me at the moment and — especially if you have kids who can use both hands and feet to quantify their age — most parents would be all like…good…it means you are doing your job.

Right. So, I'll just go ahead and file it under "really sucky aspects of raising teens" and be thankful that I'm not required to submit a work performance assessment or self-evaluation or anything.

Because, all we parents have to do is look at our own kids.

Long story, short (you're welcome!): the really, REALLY challenging part of parenting teenagers — besides pretending that it doesn't hurt when your own kids begin to question your parenting skills — is pretending that it doesn't hurt when YOU begin to question YOUR OWN parenting skills.

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December 19, 2013
Wordless Wednesday: Seagulls. Rock.

Taken on Manasquan Beach, NJ on a much warmer day, in November. #nofilter

“Can miles truly separate you from friends… If you want to be with someone you love, aren't you already there?” – Richard Bach (Jonathan Livingston Seagull)

More linky love bytes: Wordless Wednesday HQ, 5 Minutes for Mom

©2003 -2013 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

December 11, 2013
Quite possibly my best parenting advice, evuh: just do you!

Her future's so bright, we gotta wear shades 🙂

If you were to ask me to choose the most challenging aspect of our college-search journey, besides agonizing over financial packages, my short answer would be: watching my kid agonize over EVERYTHING ELSE, including my agonizing over financial packages.

For my middle daughter, now that it's crunch time (applications for merit and presidential scholarships are due December 1st), it's having to submit a personal essay: specifically, introducing herself to the admissions officers, by sharing with them what SHE feels makes her unique.

"But you're a pretty-terrific kid."

Aaaaand, here's where Heather, along with the rest of her siblings, would typically call "BS!!!" and insist that I'm just saying that, because I am her mother, and I'm supposed to say things like that.

"I don't want to sound arrogant!"

I just stood in the middle of the kitchen and stared at her, in mid-pancake flip, because I had a funny feeling that this was going to turn into one of those self-defining moments that, if done incorrectly, could scar your child for life and…YES!!!…I tend to over think stuff, like that, ALL THE DANG TIME.

"Ummmmmmm…."

See what I mean?!? Often times people mistake me for being a "good listener", when I'm probably just too busy trying to figure out stuff and my kids are already pretty good at answering their own questions for me, anyway.

"Because women get called-out for being over-confident quicker than men do."

Here's the thing: raising kids is hard, raising selfless teens is even harder; but raising up girls is dang near impossible, without being slapped in the head with a double-standard or twenty and this parenting thing is hard…YO!

"Can you come read this for me?"

Thankfully, my kids also know that I work well with the assistance of visual aids.

"OMG!!! You're crying, it's THAT bad?!?"

On the contrary, and I'm not just saying that because I am her mother, here's the part that moved me to tears — shared with Heather's permission:

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November 30, 2013
The year we gave thanks for popsicle sticks.

As a mom of 2 teens, 1 almost-teen (she’s 12, same thing) and a college-aged child (YIKES!) I feel it safe to say that the transition from summer to the start of a new school year is NEVER an easy one.

Which is why I would allow my kids the chance to decompress on the playground, even if only for a few minutes, every day afterschool. It also gave me the chance to stop, enjoy some fresh air and help us each get into the swing of their new schedules, which usually happened around November, just in time for Thanksgiving break.

I loved whenever my kids would bring their school projects home and we have certainly collected a fair amount of holiday centerpieces over the years. My youngest was seven-years-old when she made this “Thanksgiving pretty” in class and she was very careful NOT to hand it to me.

"Wow, this is really very pretty."

[one beat, two beats]

"No it isn't!"

My daughter’s eyes filled up with tears, so I quickly tried to think of something really encouraging to say, without sounding as if I were trivializing her feelings of inadequacy and…yes…I tend to overthink stuff like this, a lot.

"Uh, yeah, it is SO pretty."

To be fair, we were in the middle of the school yard, it was the best I could do, at the time.

"But, it's not how I wanted it to be."

As the youngest of four, Hope has proved to be a walking contradiction of all the things I know (or, thought I knew) about raising kids.

[sniff]

"But, sweetie…my house, my friends, my family, the world…these are very wonderful things to be thankful for!"

The look on her face screamed…Nuh-uh!

"NUH-UH!"

See?!? Then she placed her hands on her hips: which is a clear signal that my child is about to make a very important point.

"Because, I have lots more stuff to be thankful for."

[wipes eyes in sleeve]

“But, the teacher only gave me 4 popsicle sticks!”

It may not be the most elaborate of centerpieces, but this particular school project reminded me that (as parents) we sometimes have a hard time not seeing the pretty for the popsicle sticks.

"Aaaaaaand, I think it's perfect!"

Have a Prettiful Thanksgiving, everyone 🙂

©2003 -2013 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

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!

November 28, 2013
Decking the halls, like there’s no tomorrow.
We've hosted Thanksgiving for more than a dozen years and, for all my talk of going on killer dust bunny hunts and finding new places to hide the laundry, I really do enjoy having family over for the holidays — YES, on purpose!

Aaaaaand, now that my kids are older (me too, dammit!) I don't worry as much about:
- The table setting — nope, it doesn't match, but I hear that's a thing now
- The food preparation — yes, some of it comes out of a can
- Cleaning and organizing the flow of the house — seriously, I've got teens
I don't bother with shopping lists (having forgotten them at home, most likely) or worry whether I've managed to hunt down each and every dust bunny, because they're sort of like pets and we've even named a few of the bigger ones.

You see, no matter how my husband, Garth (not his real name) and I try, we've come to accept the simple fact that, with a family as big as ours, some things just don't go right and, before you can say, "Pass the potatoes," someone's puking all over your nice, clean and shiny floors.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Eve, we've got a Nor'easter banging on our front door and, well, I did what any self-respecting lifestyle-type blogger would do: I decked the halls (okay, mostly the dining room) like there was no tomorrow, literally.

Honestly, with our luck, I'll be super-thankful to have electricity on Thursday, because I am also super-easy to please, like that 🙂

©2003 -2013 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

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!
November 26, 2013
I am not superstitious, but I am a little stitious.
He's drinking out of the dog's water bowl, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!?

I remember the first time I got "my cards read," I was my youngest girl's age (12 going on 42) and it freaked me out, big time.

Her name was Charlotte, she was a friend of my Aunt Theresa's and she practiced cartomancy, which sounds an awful lot like gastromancy, but has nothing to do with being romantically involved with someone who works for the gas company — although, considering today's economy, it certainly would be a perk.

"You will marry a man, with 5 letters in his name and you will have 4 children."

You See?!? Garth (not his real name) has five letters in his name, for real too!

"Your brother will have a career in the Army and marry the Colonel's daughter."

BINGO!!! Although, I'm not exactly sure what rank my SIL's father was. Still, close enough, right?!?

"You and your children will live a long and happy life."

Still working on that one…[knocks on wood until knuckles bleed]…because the Hungarian in me wants to believe in divination and my "old world" upbringing dictates that we are indeed each blessed with certain gifts, but living with perhaps the BIGGEST skeptic on Earth has tempered all that.

Aaaaaand then I just remind my husband, Garth (not his real name) about the time I fed him chicken on New Year's Day (=) a REAL BIG "Oh no you did'int" and precursor for some REAL BAD juju for the coming year, according to Hungarian folklore.

It was also the year when things started to go bad, and kept getting worse:
- My husband suffered from one health issue after another
- Heather was diagnosed with severe colic
- I endured months of sleep deprivation, while dealing with PPD
- While our two-year-old contracted a viral infection
- That would last for the next three years
Call it bad luck, whatever, I've served ham every New Year's Day since then, just in case.

"I got my cards read, for the first time, the other day."

My MIL is still recovering from breaking her ankle (in three places, UGH!) over the summer, so we ran over to their place today to help her get a few chores done around the house.

"It was really cool, Grandma!"

I was out in the den watching the football game with my FIL (YES! It's a chore!) and headed back into their bedroom to check on my MIL.

"The woman was very specific and detailed about stuff."

I made a mental note to reacquaint our oldest daughter with my "Quit talking, about whatever it is you are talking about!" face, not quite knowing what my MIL thought about psychics, one way or the other and, well, she's still sort of getting used to having me as a DIL and stuff.

"I know it sounds weird, but it was sort of cool, too."

I watched as my MIL's eyes went REAL WIDE and prepared myself for the "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT-type" accusations, that would never come.

"Well, I was four-years-old when I told your great-grandmother I would marry someone from Massachusetts."

Good thing Thanksgiving is another 4 days away, because it's going to take me THAT long to scrape my husband's chin from off of the floor!

©2003 -2013 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

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!
November 24, 2013
Maybe I should just quit reading my own blog, right?!?

I was cleaning out my blog's archives, the other day (which, admittedly, I don't do very often, because, it's REALLY scary in there) when I came across this picture AND I had a major heart squeeze, right there, in the middle of 2008.

Hope and Doofus-dawg, waiting for the first BIG snowfall of 2008.

So, I did what any OTHER self-respecting seasoned blogger would do: posted this warm and fuzzy picture of my youngest kid to Facebook and spread the heart-squeeze, all cyber-like, because…daaaaaaaaangit…they really DO grow up so fast and, well, it's really nice to have something tangible to reflect upon, when I sort of forget how cute my kids used to be.

Especially now that they're older (me too, daaaaaaaaangit!) it sort of helps us ALL recognize and appreciate little heart-squeezing moments, like this, even more.

Or, on the other hand, prove to be just another…AHA!!!!…moment, when I sorta finally figure it out…and am all…YEP!!!…I shoulda known this one would be trouble, one day:

Ms. Independent of 2003.

On the OTHER other hand (because, we could all use a third hand, especially at this time of year, right?!?) Hope is the youngest of four and was pretty much ready to spread her wings and fly…at two years old…and will most likely be the one to get married, while jumping out of an airplane, too.

Don't have a pair of pink cowgirl boots, GET ONE!!!

Wearing a suh-weet pair of pink cowgirl boots…no doubt…because, really, even Jersey girls love us some pink cowgirl boots…YO!

She wore her sunglasses at night, or whenever the heck she wanted to.

Aaaaaand, last but not least, she would NEVER get caught eating yogurt…without wearing her sunglasses…seriously, who would want to mess wit-dat?!?

*heart, still squeezing*

I'm so glad NaBloPoMo is almost over, because it's really, really hard to blog with teens and my heart can't take much more squishing, you know?!?

©2003 -2013 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

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!

November 23, 2013
We don’t need no stinkin’ Rainbow Loom vlog!

My youngest daughter and I were cruising the aisles at Michael's (a.k.a. our second home, besides Home Depot and Lowe's, especially at this time of the year) and it didn't take long for me to remember why I try NOT to make it a habit of going into Michael's…with Hope…too much.

Her head starts to shake, then both of her arms begin to twitch and, I swear, you could almost hear the electrical wiring in her body crackle, as she starts to make a mental note of all the things we'll need, for all the projects that we could do.

Then something breaks in her brain, as it becomes all too much and she starts tossing random stuff into the cart.

"LET'S JUST MAKE ALL THE THINGS!!!!"

Pretty much like the rest of the free world, Hope is obsesssed with Rainbow Looms and she's been bugging me to get one.

Aaaaaaand, just like we are the ONLY family who has NOT gone to Disney, did you know that we are the ONLY family who does NOT have a Rainbow Loom?!?

"Well, then I think it's a perfect addition to your Christmas list."

Yeah, that went over just as well as you can probably imagine, however, I am also striving to become the meanest mom on the planet and probably have a HUGE head start on most folks, already.

"Can I at least have a bag of rubber bands, PLEASE?!?!?!?!?"

Fiiiiiiiiine, because saying "I SAID NO!!!" to a bag of rubber bands is not the kinda mean I'm striving for, don't judge.

"But don't you need a Rainbow loom?"

Translated in my youngest daughter's head as: I triple-dog dare you to PROVE ME WRONG!!!

"I don't NEED no stinkin' rainbow loom!"

Aaaaaaand, she did prove me wrong (I know, act surprised anyway 'kay?!?) and NO she does NOT get her nimbleness from me. Check it out:

Perhaps I should remind Hope that we are also the ONLY family who STILL watches a box television set; can't wait to see what the kid does with that, right?!?

©2003 -2013 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

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!

November 21, 2013
I don’t remember ordering coffee light, sweet or upside down.

I am SO NOT a morning person, however, as long as there's a cup of coffee handed to me within the first few minutes of opening my eyes, along with a clear path to a vacant bathroom, I'm good. Once I regain the power of speech, typically soon after taking a very hot shower and inhaling another cup of coffee, I'm better.

Which makes entertaining overnight guests a bit problematic.

Unless you happen to live with a morning person, like Garth (not his real name), who also happens to be an early-riser. He is the ying to my….daaaaaaaaang, it's early….wait, I'll help you with the kids, just give me a min….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Melisa stayed over for a few nights last week, she is also a morning person, which means she and Garth (not his real name) spent most mornings….without me….getting in the way of their cheerfulness and everything.

[hurl]

I felt really bad about my non-morningness, so I got up Friday at the same time they did (or maybe it was Thursday, I forget) and tried to be as sociable as, well, one can be; while not being able to speak or see straight, I mean.

Melisa and Garth (not his real name) were in the middle of a conversation — although I'm not sure what they were talking about, I'm pretty sure they were speaking English — so, I grabbed my coffee cup, fired up the Keurig and made my way to the bathroom.

Then all hell broke loose in the kitchen and, well, here's how Melisa told it on her blog:

Having a sitcom moment early one morning when Garth (NHRN) went to pull Liz’s coffee cup out from under the Keurig for her and subsequently getting coffee all over the place because she had put it in there upside-down. After he jumped back a couple of feet as graceful as a gazelle (a really manly one, of course), we both laughed together and shook our heads because “That’s just Liz before her coffee!”

Melisa MADE me take a picture, insisting it as a totally blog-worthy moment, for those of us who need visual aid (raises hand) it sort of went like this:

It's SO NICE to be surrounded by people who really get me AND know how to jump out of the way, real fast.

©2003 -2013 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

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!

November 18, 2013
Thanks for the memories, we miss you already.

Melisa and I drove down to Seaside Heights, yesterday. I hadn't been back since Superstorm Sandy ripped through the Jersey shore a little over a year ago, so it was a bittersweet moment for me. Melisa wrote a beautiful post about our trip to Seaside Park and captures the meaning behind "Jersey Strong," perfectly.

Which is truly ironic, considering this is her first trip to our neck of the woods and that many folks have openly questioned Melisa why, of all places, she would even consider visiting New Jersey.

It's okay, we're used to it. Also, it's mid-November; if I had my choice, I'd probably pick somewhere a little, you know, warmer to spend my frequent flyer miles, too.

Still, it was very important for me that Melisa was made to feel right at home and I asked my kids to help by treating her as if they would any other member of our family.

We invited her to attend my son's last football game of the season with us and, after teasing each other, giggling in unison like a bunch of school girls and then huddling close together (it was like Antarctica cold, last night) my youngest daughter turned around to ask Melisa a question.

"Hey mom…wait…I mean, Melisa…"

I feel it safe to say that…THAT alone…was most likely worth the 1,600 miles.

Aaaaaand, it's okay. I didn't mind one bit, because anyone who knows Melisa would probably agree with me when I tell you that SHE REALLY IS sort of hard to resist, like that.

Thanks for all of the wonderful memories, we miss you already, Melisa.

©2003 -2013 This Full House with a fan page on Facebook and everything!

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!

November 15, 2013