lynette {radio}

Today was my first Mother’s Day as a mom of two kids. My family is complete, and this was the first year I could celebrate it. That’s not true, I celebrate my family in tiny ways every single day. Today just happened to be a day I got more flowers than usual, more homemade cards than usual, and an added perk of breakfast at my favorite local diner. My husband told me last night that it was my day to sleep in - I secretly laughed at him. Honey, who is going to breastfeed he baby when he wakes up at 7am? He tried, but snored through the little baby coos to alert me that a hungry baby was just ten minutes away. The effort was enough. Plus, when I came home Saturday night after spending the day with my grandmother, mom, and brother, the kitchen was pretty much spotless.

Even though my husband was stuck doing cleanup duty at our pool co-op, I took the kids to visit my mom and grandmother. It was really, REALLY important that I get to go see my grandmother. My daughter loves her so much, and my grandma lights up every time she sees her. Of course what’s not to love about seeing the baby, he laughs and smiles at everyone. I’m pretty much the taxi for my kids, because as soon as we walk in the door, I get demoted to third place. I’m fine with it, I hung back with my little brother who is home for the summer from college. Later Saturday night we went to dinner at a hibitchi place. Kidlette has been to a restaurant like that before, but doesn’t remember it. It was fun, and the kids were fairly behaved. How could I ask for more?

Funny, now that I’m a mom (times two), the holiday feels like it doesn’t belong to me, but my mother and grandmother. Without them, and how they raised me, I wouldn’t be who I am. My mom was a single mom for a very long time, and my grandma lived just seven houses away. They both raised me. Yes my husband is my partner in parenting our kids, but a lot of what I know - for better or worse… - is because of those two women. On a day like today I can’t help but be grateful to them.

As far as my Mother’s Day, I didn’t get to sleep in, but I did get up and out of the house early to enjoy a breakfast, and then a few errands. After that, a few burgers on the grill and an afternoon of watching my husband play Kingdom Hearts II (actually more exciting for me than you think - I like the game but don’t know how to play console games). After the kids went to bed, I grabbed a glass of wine and started typing. Nice, low-key, simple, and with my family.

Besides, this Friday is a horrible, horrible day. My birthday.

Technorati Tags: mothers day, family, mother, grandmother

That very line came out of my daughter’s mouth this morning. I asked her to repeat it three times because I wasn’t sure if I heard her correctly. At breakfast this morning we were going over the school calendar for the remaining weeks of the year. I’m required to attend two events at the school - an ‘authors workshop’ showcase and a carnival. That’s when she dropped the bomb. She doesn’t think I dress like the other moms, let alone an adult. WHOA. Granted, I’m dressed in a white V-neck tee, gray capri yoga pants, pink flip flops, and pigtails. Awww, shucks, do I have to dress like *them*? All the other women I see at the school are almost always in business attire or dressed in fashionable clothes with makeup on. Even my kid sees I need a makeover. I pray the other moms don’t notice…

I just blew $500 on clothes for the kids and I for the summer. My husband paid the credit card bill this morning and let me know. I am a bargain-queen shopper for clothing three people for that price, and it included gifts for my new nephew. Plus, I’m in the process of losing the baby fat from my last pregnancy, and have already dropped a size. My closet is extremely bare-bones. I make runs every other week to Goodwill to donate old (size 6) clothes I’ve had since before I met my husband. My only splurge is whenever I come across Crocs knockoffs in a color I don’t already own. I long for the real thing, in purple and pink and aqua and most other colors, but I’m cheap.

I did, for some unknown reason, have the foresight to pick up two really cute skirts and held onto two really cute wrap dresses. She petitioned for the dresses, until I explained to her I can’t nurse the baby with a one-piece dress on. We ended the conversation by agreeing that I’ll wear an outfit she gets to pick out for me. My job is to do my hair and makeup and keep the baby from crying when it’s her turn on stage.

I think I can manage that and look like an adult at the same time.

Technorati Tags: dress, adult, kids, mommy blogger, school, crocs, mom makeover

I’ve been a mom almost 7 years, and it’s taken me this long to wear the title of ’stay at home mom’. In fairness, I did work outside the house for about half of that time. To help celebrate that landmark, I’ve started contributing to the New Jersey Moms Blog. I was thinking about starting up a blog like this, but realized I don’t really have any mom blogger friends in the state. Just goes to show that no matter how connected someone is online, they can still be void of face to face friends in ‘real life’. That all goes back to my I-need-a-local-hip/cool-mamma to grab coffee with - and to grab a cocktail every once in awhile. The local moms group has been providing lots of activities for me and the kiddies, but I need some more adult interaction.

Anyway, forget my rambling. Go check out the blog! There are mom blogger groups in other areas of the country, and a group for 50+ moms. Very cool….

And be sure to go check out my inaugural post A Rockstar Slept Here…

Technorati Tags: nj, mom blog, new jersey, sahm

The weather is really nice out today, and Jack is in a mellow mood (6 month checkup and *3* shots!) so I thought I’d try my hand at a few pictures. So far he’s a real fan of grass. The birds are a big hit too.

I’m using Kidlette’s digital camera we got her for her birthday last year (so she’d stop using mine). Turns out her camera is better (i.e. higher resolution) than mine. Still, it’s a $100 camera and takes good, not *great*, pictures. Still on my wishlist is a SLR camera. My father-in-law just got one that weighs in at 10 megapixels and I dare never ask to borrow it. I’ve got to wait a long time for the SLR for me though, I’ve got my eye out on a patio for the backyard first.

Technorati Tags: digital camera, slr, outdoors

Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Think globally, act locally.

I think we tune these phrases out when we hear them. I mean, won’t it take time and money to act responsibly? Don’t the funky lightbulbs cost more to buy? Really, how much electricity can ONE lightbulb use? I don’t have time to sort plastic bottles (I do though). My family can’t save the world…

Maybe I can’t, but my kids are sure tough enough to. Look at the mess our parents (unknowingly in most cases) left us. Hello superfund sites. I’m sure I licked a lead paint windowcill at some point in my childhood. My grandfather had both white lung & black lung. We are smarter to avoid things like asbestos and breathing coal dust, but at the expense of our parents and grandparents health. Now that I’ve got kids of my own, I am quickly realizing that being kind to Mother Nature is more than just treating the Earth gently, it’s treating *humans* gently.

With all the wars and starvation going on, sometimes I don’t understand how it’s worth it to save it all. People need some way to redeem themselves. Shoot a person but provide for their children. Dump waste in the water and then build expensive factories to purify it. Now all the buzz is about carbon footprints and going green. How about we not eff it up in the first place? There’s a thought.

So how does all of this effect ME? Because, really, that is what this is all about. My family. Act locally and all. Everything in the house and our lives is eligible for change. I have been hearing a lot about certain plastics - especially in baby bottles - not being safe for food use. Plastics used to store food and heated in microwaves causing breast cancer. Who knows if it’s all true (some is for sure), but why take the chance? It’s causing a mess being made, then it causes a mess in our homes and bodies, then it causes a mess for centuries in landfills.

So what has my family been doing to help our quality of life and the planet? A lot more than I realized, and I’m sure it’s the same with everyone.

- Reusing kids toys and clothing when I can
- Using Freecycle, Goodwill, and Craigslist - mostly giving away for now, need to declutter and get a fresh start
- I breastfeed the baby … so no manufacturing of infant formula and all the gear needed to use it
- Keep the house warmer in the summer, cooler in the winter
- Cars with decent gas mileage & lumping all out-of-the-house errands together
- Keep lights and electronics off when we aren’t using them
- Hurray for dishwashers! They actually use less water than washing by hand
- High efficiency, front-loading washing machines
- We use our phones and iPods and computers to store information & pay bills instead of printing or mailing (our printer rarely gets used)
- Eat locally-grown food and produce
- WE PLANT TREES IN OUR YARD

Where are we slacking? Too many plastic grocery bags. So today I ordered a set of reusable ones. My pantry is filled to capacity with the plastic ones and it turns my stomach. I hate them. Something else on my killing the Earth list… I drive my daughter 7 houses (1/4 mile) down the street to the bus stop when the weather is cold/bad/we are late. If the school listens to me and puts a stop in front of our house, I am sure I can save a few tons of toxic emissions each year.

The whole disposable diaper issue still bugs me a bunch. Studies have been showing up that both cloth and disposable impact the environment, just in different ways. End result - baby poop messes with the balance of nature. What I haven’t figured out how to do yet is recycle car seats. I’ve got three of them that need to be thrown out, but there is no easy way to do it. So they sit in my basement and collect dust.

What it all comes down to is think about every single thing that comes into your home or your body. Sounds like it takes a long time? How about changing one thing a week or even one thing a day? Somehow I think the time you spend thinking about stuff like this will be repaid to you at the end of your life, with a longer life - for us & the rock floating in space we like to live. Karma on an infinite level.

What green things are you trying to teach your kids?

Technorati Tags: earth day, earth day 2008, green living, freecycle, goodwill, craigslist, recycle