Weighing In: Going "Four" It

Every Monday for the last two and a half years I have "started over". I think to myself, This will be the week that I start to lose weight. This will be the week that I make the change. This will be the beginning of the new me. And I always got the same result... I can work out on the treadmill for three days. Or eat the right foods for three days. After three days, I'm done. I get caught up in laundry or paperwork or a TV program or the many, many things that cause stress in my life. I can never get past the three day mark.

I'm trying something different. A "Two Week Total Body Turnaround".

Wait, did I just hear someone chuckle? Only a stupid person would think you can turn obesity around in two weeks.

Trust me, I am not stupid. However, I am counting calories and working out for an hour each night.

Did I say an hour?

Yes, I said an hour.

An entire sixty minutes.

Devoted to myself.

Yes, me.

Super Mommy.

I find it hard to believe, too.

But...

This time. This week. This chance. This begninning. I am going to make it four days. Because I can. Because I have what it takes within me. Because I deserve it.

Weighing In: The Bottom Line

A few nights ago, I was reading books to my children at bedtime. I was laying on my stomach while reading on my daughter's bed. My almost-three year old came up behind me and pushed on my rear end, trying to get me to move over. Suddenly, he started laughing! He kept pushing on my rear, "jiggling" my fat. My other two children started giggling, too. Giggle, jiggle, giggle, jiggle. Then my husband came in, wondering what all the giggling was about... I was mortified.

I don't have a full length mirror in my home so I don't often look at my rear end. Now I'm thinking that I should invest in one. Before the jiggle gets any worse. Before my random eating gets so far gone that my only option is to audition for The Biggest Loser...

The Bottom Line: I need to lose some jiggle! TODAY!

Not Me Monday: Post-Black Friday Edition

If I would have posted a blog on the eve of Thanksgiving, I would not have written about how I was not going to give in to Black Friday shopping with my dear MIL and SIL. And there was no way was I going to feel guilty for even thinking about backing out at the last minute because I was exhausted. I did not complain about it incessantly to my husband before and after said shoppping trip either.

While on this trip, I did not drink four huge cups of coffee and therefore suffer from a caffeine crash later in the day. Not me!

I did not miss the "football" part of the football party that evening. And it was not me who drank a bottle of wine all by herself. It was not me who neither used profanity while in this crazy state, nor forgot a few conversations that evolved over the course of the night. I would not do any of the afore mentioned things at a party that included my child care clients.

And I would not seriously consider therapy after the events of Black Friday, 2009!

The Daycare Diaries: The Routine of Napping

Before I began working as a child care provider, I could not imagine getting two children to nap at the same time, much less eight or ten children. Then I started working at a child care center. Ten or twelve children, ranging in age from 12 months to 3 years, would lay down on their little resting mats and fall asleep! Even on a crazy day, at least half would sleep for a good two hours. Amazing! Then I would be home on my days off, struggling to get my two children (2 1/2 years and 11 months old) to nap, without success.

One of the most important things that I have learned after five years in the child care business is... Keep a routine! When I say "routine", I don't mean that at precisely 12:53pm each and every day at my child care program, we lay down to sleep. It means that each day, we eat our lunch, use the restroom, wash our hands and then lay down for rest time. In that order. Bed time works the same way for my own children. Children love routine! They know what to expect. No surprises.

Of course, I cannot guarentee that they will all sleep every day, or that their naps will last for the same amount of time each day. Hey, I'm not a miracle worker here... but I do have all eight children sleeping right now. And that's routine!

Cluttered Thoughts

You know you've been neglecting your blog when you can't even remember neither the password to log into Blogger, nor which email address you used to create your account!

I think I'm having a mid-middle-thirties crisis here. Or perhaps it is just that we are approaching the holidays and I feel completely unprepared. I feel so unprepared and apathetic that I have been sitting at my computer staring at my homepage, hoping an answer will just appear on my moniter. These are some of the questions running through my head...

What do I put on my childrens' Christmas wish list when they don't need anything and we don't have any more space for things they want?

How am I going to get my holiday baking done when we have plans every weekend from now until 2010?

My house is a cluttered mess! Can I clean it in time for the holidays?

Why am I blogging when I should be de-cluttering?

Super Mommy, Where Are You?

When I started blogging, I should have explained that I may be absent from the blog world for long periods of time. When I started this blog, I intended for it to be my "journal", a record of my thoughts. My connection to the "outside world". Many times have I been at the computer ready to blog, when someone or something distracts me from my intention. (Like right now, for example. In the first five sentences I typed, I had to get up twice to help my children with breakfast.)

This is the story of my life. Does Super Mommy have so many responsibilities and commitments that she has no time for herself? Right now, there are hand prints that need to be wiped off of the walls and windows. There is a basket of laundry sitting on the table that needs to be folded. There are syrupy plates that need to be put into the dishwasher. And there are always, always papers to be sorted. (Um, yes. I have a problem with paper clutter. But more on that later.) This is my biggest challenge. How do I make time for myself?

I've schedule time off from work. Yes, I will be closing my home daycare for a four day weekend in August. My two oldest children will be staying with my parents for three days. My husband, a farmer, can take my youngest son to work with him. So what will Super Mommy do? Here is my plan: I'm finally going to use the gift card for a day at the spa. I've been wanting to do this for six months. I'm going to make the appointment TODAY! Then I'm going to wipe the hand prints off the walls, fold the laundry and continue blogging! I hope...

My Wish

It has been several years since anyone has put candles on my birthday cake. I don't remember the last birthday on which I blew the candles out on my cake. Gone are the days of wishing for Strawberry Shortcake Dolls, Barbies, Pepe' Jeans or for some silly Jr. High boy to be "in love" with me. Although there aren't any candles on the cake (a great idea since the multitude of candles might start a prairie fire on a windy day out here), I still make a little wish. My wish isn't for a new car, a pedicure, great wealth or new clothes. All of those would be wonderful, but they are just material things.

Somewhere along the way, probably around the time I was married, my wish be came simple. My wish is for an average day. A day that my children are playing. A day that my husband kisses me good morning and good night. A day that my dog still barks at a stranger pulling into our driveway. A day that is filled with unplanned happenings. A day that I am just me living my life. At the end of that day, no matter how crazy or normal it is, my family is healthy and safe. A day that I can thank God for watching over us.

Today I have been so greatly blessed with birthday wishes, from my daycare families to my "friends" on Facebook to my three sweet, wonderful children. Today I am ok with being average. As I celebrate tonight, I will make another wish. A wish for another average year in my average life. And if I do, by chance, receive any monetary gifts, I may use it on a pedicure. Isn't that what the average Super Mom would do?

The Weight on My Shoulders

If I were to create a "To Do" list, I don't think it would ever end. Between my childcare business and being a wife and mother, I am swamped with things to do. I am a multi-tasking monster! Taking time for myself is rare. I have spent the last six years worrying more about everyone else than myself. And is shows. It is reflected in my eating habits and... my weight.

I was NEVER small. I learned some bad eating habits when I was younger and I've been fighting to change them my entire life. Today I am almost 60 lbs. overweight. The smallest I've been since high school is a size 12, about three and a half years ago. I've been on a roller coaster ride with my weight. I need to take control before my children learn these bad habits from me.

So onward I go. I'm going to pull myself up by my bootstraps and take control. I'm going to get this weight off my shoulders once and for all!

No way! Not Me!

I did not sleep in until almost 9am on Saturday morning, even though I knew I had a visitor coming. No, Not Me! And when I did finally drag myself out of bed I did not bounce around the house in a wild cleaning frenzy, even though said visitor (my BFF since Kindergarten) told me not to. Nope, Not Me! Also, I was not so darn busy doing "damage contol" that I forgot to feed my chlidren their breakfast. And I didn't let them watch TV during this wild frenzy, either. It was so Not Me!

My manic mind is so full of things I didn't do on Saturday, that I can't remember what I didn't do every day before that... or what I did do, for that matter. Didn't I what? Did I do that? No way! Not Me!

(Oh, and I did not refuse to cook on Mother's Day and enjoy it. I would never use any excuse like that to wiggle free from the kitchen. So Not Me!)

The Daycare Diaries: How Did I Get Here?

I care for up to ten children at one time. Three of those are mine. I have a daycare in my home. I am business owner, a childcare provider. I work at least 60 hours each week. I change diapers, wipe noses, and bandage boo-boos. (Yes, I bandage those that aren't real, too.) I provide two meals and two snacks each day. I rock babies, play games, plan activities and comfort children. I am their "second mom".

I never imagined myself as a childcare provider, much less a parent running a childcare program in my own home. In college, I majored in business administration with an emphasis in marketing. After college, I worked in the buying department for a major junior clothing retailer. Then I moved with my soon-to-be husband, a farmer, to a rural area in the midwest. I had a job as an office manager. It seemed I was following my dreams. I was working, paying off my college debt and happily married.

So how did I get here? We had a baby. We needed childcare. The childcare provider that I found didn't fit our scheduling needs. The next provider I found didn't fit our standards. I had another baby. I quit my job to have more time with my children only to find myself working for a childcare center. Eventually, I realized that the only person who met my standards was me. I decided that I would create my own program and offer it to other parents who were looking for quality a childcare program. Three years (and one more baby!) later, I have a waiting list of potential clients.

So here I am. I am a childcare provider.

My Baby is Not a Baby Anymore

I have three children. Six, Four, Two. Boy, Girl, Boy. When I kiss and hug my youngest son I always say, "Love you, Baby!"

He always replies, "Love you, Baby" or "Love you, Mom".

Today I was tucking him in for a nap and I said those words to him, "Love you, Baby."

He said, "No, Mom! Not ME baby!" and curled his bottom lip out in a sweet little pout.

I don't know where those two years, four months and seventeen days went!

We don't plan on having any more children. I've recently been asked by several people, "When are you having another baby?" Or, "Aren't you having any more kids?"

Really? Three isn't enough?

My husband only planned on two. I feel fortunate to have convinced him that three was a good number. (In all honesty, I would be happy with four. Please don't tell him!) I think my window of opportunity for making that happen has passed. Six straight years of buying diapers has taken its toll on me.

Still...

I love babies.

*sigh*

It may take me some time to get used to this.

It Was Definately Not Me!

In honor of MckMama's Not Me! Monday , I'm starting my own Not Me posting. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. Since I am a newbie in the blog world, I must first tell you that did not link my entire blog to MckMama's sight, rather that just this post. That was definately Not Me!

I would never let my two-year-old eat fruit snacks for breakfast, especially on a Monday morning. Nope, definately Not Me!

I don't know who would tell their husband they were going shopping with a friend and then "accidently" go to a wine and jazz festival instead. Certainly, most definately Not Me!

"Super Mom" by Definition

super mom
Main Entry: su·per·mom
Pronunciation: \ˈsü-pər-ˌmäm\
Function: noun
Date: 1974
: an exemplary mother ; also : a woman who performs the traditional duties of housekeeping and child-rearing while also having a full-time job

According the last part of Merriam-Webster's definition, almost every mom I know is a "super mom". (I was surprised to see that the term "super mom" dates back to 1974, two years before I was born!) It appears that any woman who is the primary caretaker of the children and home and has a full-time job is a "super mom". I will not argue with that.

What I am pondering is this... What are the "traditional duties of housekeeping and child-rearing"? Does this mean I must iron all of my husband's denim pants (jeans) as my grandmother did in 1974? Must there be a multiple-course, home-cooked supper waiting patiently for my husband to arrive home each evening? Must I be the one who attends to all the children's needs at all times?

How can this modern, 21st century working mother compete with the 1974 super mom? Is it even possible? Did the 1974 "exemplary" version ever exist? What makes an "exemplary" mother in 2009?

I am Super Mommy

My name is Super Mommy. I appear to be an average person. I'm a daughter, a sister, a sister-in-law, a daughter-in-law, an aunt, a friend and above all, a wife and mother. I'm just an average person. Until I put on my cape. Then my true identity is revealed. I am Super Mommy. I fix meals, boo-boos and problems all at once. I entertain, clean and plan. I am a teacher, a nurse, and a cook. And that's just my day job! I manage the house, the finances, the chores and the children. I am the caretaker of the the lawn and the laundry. I am a barber, a chauffer, a gardener, a stylist, an interior designer, a maid, a survivor and a lover! Am I just an average person? I am over-worked and under-paid. I am happy.

My name is Super Mommy. Welcome to my world...