Most Popular Blog Post of 2013

I wanted to do a quick recap on what my most popular blog post of 2013 was because it really surprised me.  What was it, you ask?  15 Reasons I'm Awesome.

Why was that such a popular post?  I have absolutely no idea but I have over 1000 views on that.  Am I really that awesome?

I wrote about my life, how I overcame some obstacles in my life, why I sometimes lie to my kids and how I can entertain them on almost no money.  Is that interesting to people?  Maybe.

Maybe it's because I had low self esteem at that point but yet I was able to come up with 15 reasons why I was awesome. 

Or maybe it's because I seem to be supermom. 

I mean, I can shower in 10 minutes or less... I can also do my makeup while holding a bathroom door closed with my kids trying to break the door down... Or maybe because despite having a full time job and being a single mom, I can still make dinner from scratch and attempt to clean my house.

Hey, maybe it's even because I could care less if my house is a huge pig sty.  I have kids, that's always my excuse for surprise visitors.  And because if they came unannounced, they shouldn't judge me.  Pick up a damn phone and call before you come.  At least give me a frikkin heads up so I can shove shit into a closet.

I've also become a pro at getting my 8 year old's extremely thin and soft hair into a ballet bun for her dance classes.  How?  Well, I'm supermom.  And that bun donut thing is a lifesaver.  With a crap load of bobby pins.  But if anyone asks, I'm just going to stick with the fact that I am supermom. 

My 8 year old also says "I hate you" almost once a day but it doesn't phase me.  I feel like if she hates me, I'm doing something right.  She won't hate me for long, she knows I'm her ride for going over her friends houses, I can pay for her dance classes and I can say "no" to just about anything. ;)  Her "I hate you's" are very short lived.

Eyes in the back of my head?  Forget that! I have eyes in every single room.  I can sense with my mommy-senses if there is trouble brewing or if my 6 year old decided that our wall is better than her easel paper.  (It happens!)  I can also clean that damn wall better than anyone else can. (Or so I think.)

I still wonder why that was the most popular post of 2013 but then I think to myself...Hey, it is because I am that awesome. :)

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You Know You're a Single Mom When...

When I saw Mama Kat's writing prompt this week about..."You Know You're A Mom When"... I knew I had to use it.  I constantly make my own lists for this and I would love to share them!  I altered it to be, "You Know You're a Single Mom When", because I'm a single mom and have that experience to share.  :)  If you have any ideas for any other ones, please post them in the comments! 

10. When you feel accomplished when you actually have taken a shower, brushed your teeth and shaved your legs all in one session.  This is a rare occurrence, maybe once a week if you're a lucky single mom!  When I accomplish all of this while taking a shower without any little visitors calling me "mom", I feel like I deserve a medal for that feat.

9. When "it's at his/her dads house" is an automatic response.  You have no idea how many times we leave something at daddys house.  I would love to blame it on someone else, but I should remember what my kids left with too.  #mommybrain ;)

8. When you can go for days without washing your hair, doing your makeup or dressing in anything other than sweatpants and a t shirt. And why would you want to?  The kids aren't going to judge you!  There's no dress code for dropping the kids off or picking them up, so why get all dolled up?  Save that for the rare girls night out or date!  (HA! What are those?)

7. You turn into the worlds best handy woman.  Fixing the overflowing toilet, fixing the leak in your sink, climbing to change light bulbs, assembling furniture and landscaping has become second nature to you.

6. Sleep is a hobby that you wish you had more time for. If you can even remember what sleep is!

5. You've become a pro at asking for favors. You get used to bribing neighbors, friends or family members to babysit, it's become second nature to you!  Even if it's for 10 minutes to take a short child-less run to Target.

4. Mothers Day is a huge celebration and Fathers Day is just another day!

3. You're used to piling the kids into the car to run and get the bread you forgot the day before. (And getting home and finding random things in your bags that you did not remember purchasing.  Why do these random items jump in the cart and why are they always things the kids would want?  Damn lollipops with legs.)

2. When your kids are at their fathers house and you make a to do list only to realize there aren't enough hours in the day! I make a to-do list, take a significantly long and much needed nap and when I wake up I realize I cant finish my other tasks.  Oh well, sleep was the most important any way...check!

1. When you have to ask another family member to take your child to a father/daughter dance. This one actually breaks my heart because I've had to do this in the past, but it's how you know you're a single mom.  Every aspect of parenting has it's down side..

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Insanity Gone Viral

I actually saw this photo on Facebook last night and thought it was a joke... That was until I saw this actual article on Yahoo, then I just wished it was a joke.  Who, in their right mind, would leave their child in the car while shopping?  It doesn't matter if it's for two minutes, twenty minutes or two hours; you are a parent.  Your child is YOUR responsibility, not an inconvenience to you.

For those of you who do not know, this happened in New Zealand.  The Yahoo article states:

A photograph taken in New Zealand is causing quite an uproar around the world. The photo at the center of the controversy is of an infant asleep in a car seat locked alone inside a car. A note, seemingly written from the baby's perspective, is attached to the chest and reads, "my mums in doing the shopping, call her if I need anything." There is a phone number written at the end.

This child has to be a few days to a week old, sleeping peacefully in her car seat.  All her mother had to do was snap the carrier out of the base and place the carrier on the front of the shopping cart.  I mean, on average a newborn baby sleeps 16-18 hours out of the day, I doubt this little one was going to interrupt her mother's shopping.

Another part of the article states:

The couple also noted that the baby did look well taken care of and that they know how difficult it can be to get an infant to go to sleep.

I'm sure the baby was well taken care of however it seems like the mother feels the child is an inconvenience to her when she is going out.  It is the mother's responsibility to make sure the child is always well taken care of and that means not leaving her sleeping newborn in an unattended car.  Who knows what could have happened?  Someone could have stolen the car, kidnapped this baby, etc...  The worst part about the above quoted statement is that it seems this couple condones what the mother did by stating that they understand how difficult it is to get a newborn to sleep.  I actually couldn't believe what I was reading when I was reading it.

In my honest opinion, the New Zealand police should have at least charged the mother with child endangerment.  I can't believe they aren't charging her at all since a formal complaint was never filed.  It sickens me to know that this mother might continue to leave her child in the car while she's shopping, especially in this uncertain and dangerous world we live in.

Ok, Ok, maybe I've threatened to leave my kids in the car a few times, especially when we're going to Toys R Us, but I never do! (Even though the temptation is so strong sometimes.)

What do you think about this article?

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What do you think about getting a child a computer?

My oldest daughter just turned 7 in October and for over two years she has been heavily into computers.  At age 5 she asked me to show her how to use the computer to play games and I obliged.  After all, this is the age of technology and I feel the more kids understand it the better off they are.  

For the past two years she has had 30 minutes a day after school to use my computer and play the games she wants to play, which I have absolutely no problem with.  However, this year she asked me if Santa could bring her a laptop just for herself.  After thinking about it and deciding that I could splurge on a small Netbook for my daughter, I set off to look for the perfect laptop for a 7 year old that will last, be easy for her to use and something that can grow with her.

I am on various discussion boards aimed at moms and asked around to see if anyone knew of laptops that would be perfect for my little girl.  I got some great ideas but also a lot of people who told me, basically, that I am spoiling her and handing everything to her on a silver platter.  Then I also got the parents who decided upon themselves, without knowing me, that I’m not watching what my daughter is doing on the computer and I have to be careful.  First of all, I may be 27 years old but I know how to parent thank-you-very-much.  I am 100% aware of what my daughter does on the computer and implement the correct parental controls so she does not see things she shouldn’t see.  I feel very confident that my daughter knows what is right and what is wrong but I also watch what she is doing when she is on the computer.  

Kids in our school district began using computers in Pre-School and it continues all the way up to 8th grade.  Both of my daughters have computer classes to learn the important skills that will be needed in the future.  Computer skills are absolutely vital these days because of the wealth of information that they can learn from websites.  I grew up learning how to use a computer and now have a day job working all day on a computer, I know the importance of learning the skills and using the computer.  I am a very technologically savvy mom and want my kids to do the same.  I’m not trying to spoil them, I want them to learn to be independent, gain computer skills and be able to look something up when they have a question.  I believe it is important for them to learn problem solving skills via the internet and I will always push that.  Of course, I will also always monitor them to make sure that they are making the correct decisions online and will take appropriate action if any of my rules are broken.  

What do you think about getting a 7 or 8 year old a laptop?

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We are Going to Have a New Look Soon!

I've been too busy lately and haven't had too much time to upkeep this blog properly.  Since May I have been really promoting and working on my Virtual Assisting & Social Media Consulting business, being a mom, looking for a full time job and trying to upkeep my home.  It's hard being a single mom and trying to do it all, but I've been overworking myself trying to get it all done.  I absolutely love this blog and love the mommy blogger "blogosphere" and do not want to neglect it anymore.  This is how I escape from my home and am able to communicate with other moms;  I love it with all my heart.  

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Stay-at-home moms are lazy?

While at work (haha) I was browsing through some blogs and saw this post by http://herbadmother.com/2011/02/they-said-shut-up/.  She brings up some valid points that I have thought about many times before.  There are so many people who frown upon being a stay-at-home mom.  Trust me, I have been in the middle of that argument before.  When my oldest was born I had been thinking about being a stay at home mom for as long as I possibly could.  I was criticized and put down about spending time with my daughter (how dare I!!) from many colleagues, friends and even family members.  I was told that with my smarts and my education, why am I going to waste my talents being a stay-at-home mom?  

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Chasing Bugs and Teacher Meetings

I admire any mother who can actually be energetic and make use of all of the hours in a day.  God knows, I do try my best to but I can't.  It's impossible for me to do anything that I have to do when I work 9-12 hours and then have to clean after the messes the kids made while I was working, make dinner and hope that my kids decide to go to bed on time.  It's absolutely impossible.  There are times when I feel like I need a week vacation, I dream of going somewhere remote and warm and peaceful -- then I snap back into reality and realize that I am a single mom of my two little terrors.  I don't have time for vacations!  The most time that I do have for myself is when I'm working.  Other than that, maybe once a week I go out with my friend for dinner or to just unwind.  

Honestly, I think I figured that when I started working from home I wouldn't be so exhausted.  That was the wrong thing to think.  Even though I am sitting on my butt all day and working on my computer, I'm absolutely exhausted.  Even more tired than I was when I worked outside the home.  I'm not sure if it is because I know I can be lazy and I'm aware that my bed is just a few steps away or if using my brain is making me so exhausted. (Ha!  Everyone that knows me knows that my brain is hardly ever used otherwise...)  There are days, hours or moments where I can barely keep my eyes open.  There are times when I feel so sick and it's all due to the extreme exhaustion.  I could only pray for a good night of sleep, that's impossible as well.  Once I finally am able to go to sleep -- my insomnia kicks in and I just can't shut off to go to sleep.  Irony...

Today was another one of those busy days.  Had to get Alayna to school, get back in time for work, go to pick her up from school on my lunch break, had to pick up lunch on the way home and then get back to work.  Not only that, but I also had to take some time this afternoon to go to Alayna's parent-teacher conference.   Since she is in Pre-K they don't give report cards, but they do give verbal progress reports.  I wasn't surprised to hear that Alayna is beyond Pre-K knowledge.  I knew this last year when I felt she should have been in school.  Her teacher is in disbelief that she can copy a sentence that her teacher writes, she's in awe that Alayna's art talent is as good as it is and she cannot believe that Alayna has so much knowledge in her little head.  She had told me that Alayna answers almost all of the questions that her teacher asks.  Needless to say, I was a very proud mommy.  I'm not exactly sure where my daughter gets her brains from...sure as hell not me!

Afterwards, while eating dinner, we had a riot in our kitchen -- there as a bug on the ceiling.  It wasn't just a fly, it was the ugliest S.O.B that you had EVER seen.  This thing was huge and gave us all the creeps.  Of course, my girls couldn't calmly leave the room, they had to run screaming into the living room.  As if the bug was going to attack them.  They're a hundred times bigger than it.  I am much more bave! (Or so I thought.)  My mom and uncle are sitting there laughing as I go into the hallway to get our swiffer.  By the time I got back in the kitchen, the bug was no longer on the ceiling and I couldn't find it.  So, I had the stupid thought to stand on the chair and maybe take a look on top of our ceiling fan.  Maybe he climbed up there...  I get on the chair and turn my head and...

I'm face to buggy eye face with that little ugly mofo bug...

So of course, being the brave super mom I am, I jump off the chair, throw the swiffer at my mom and run screaming to the other side of the room.  Oh yes I did.  When it comes to big ugly bugs, I'm not brave.  I hate them.  They make me itchy just looking at them. (Or just thinking about them.  I'm itching right now.)

To make a long story short, we got the bug...and his brother who came to look for him after we killed the first one...  Disgusting, ew, i.... hate.... bugs....

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