Tag: Family

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Choosing Childcare, Preschools

Upon the birth of my first child Grant I was a mess for weeks scrambling, literally, at the last minute attempting to arrange and interview child care centers and preschools. My poor son, at the ripe age of five weeks with a neurotic mother, scared sick about leaving her child with anyone else but his parents. Even the sole time my mother watched Grant so that The Chad and I could attend a work dinner was sheer horror for me. I was breastfeeding and it was time away from my baby.

However, my fears were lessened as I began to research schools and childcare centers. I read articles online about credentials the centers had yielded, affiliations, complaints and where to find those complaints (which will vary by state), I researched whether they were part of a food program, the security measures they had to keep my children safe from predators and while in their care, and the staff to children ratio.

Who would have dreamed that childcare considerations were so in-depth, labor intensive, and quite frankly a science?

I had no idea. In fact when I first began seeking out childcare for Grant I went off of the brand name centers that were familiar by sound. Later I found I was unimpressed, annoyed, and rather disdained by the level of service these “brand name” childcare and preschool centers offered. The treatment was comparable to walking onto the sales lot of an auto dealership, vultures, waiting to pluck at their prey when they are most vulnerable, pushing for a “tour” based on their schedule and not yours, more concerned with enrollment and cash flow than the needs of my child and myself. One center had the audacity to advise me that they would not let me visit the center unless I had an appointment, needless to say I felt this organization had something to hide if I could not just drop in as I felt my schedule allowed, they were discounted and removed from consideration.

My research and extensive notations about the various facilities soon became a bullet point checklist:

  • Accreditation – was the school accredited in the state, nation, how were they officially recognized as a facility and learning institution.
  • Safety – was the facility safe for my child (now children with the twins), keypad entry, camera’s viewing the classrooms, licensed facilitators and caregivers.
  • Convenience – was the center convenient to my hours, schedule, location, were they accommodating to my needs and those of my children.
  • Curriculum – did the center provide a curriculum of learning and or child interaction no matter the age to aid in the development of my child.
  • Cost – the nitty-gritty is that cost is a huge factor in choosing a childcare and or preschool. Even if the cost is low, do the other bullets add up in the equation regarding curriculum or learning, safety, and accreditation, the same can also be said for the higher priced “brand name” and or boutique childcare centers.
  • Happiness- is my child happy here, am I happy they are here, do the staff interact with my child in a fun and loving fashion, yet educational and assertive to establish healthy boundaries.

While each parent’s decision in choosing a childcare facility and or preschool may vary, the fact of the matter lies in that as parents we choose what is best for our child, children, and our families. Each family varies with their needs, whether they be a special needs learner, a child with allergies, and or our children need a level of interaction to stimulate their learning and childhood experience, the choice in a childcare facility is not one to be made hastily.

Be sure to weigh in on all of the factors when choosing a childcare center, and furthermore, rely on your instincts. While the consideration may sound hooky or even mystical in nature, a parent has a form of sixth sense when considering care, welfare, and well-being of our children. Choose a facility that will work with you, your family and especially your child. For more information, visit your local department of health services to research a childcare facility and their operations and visit Primrose Schools to read about the various options to weigh when researching a childcare facility.What are some considerations you look to when choosing a childcare facility? What sticks out as a sore thumb or red-flag in your decisioning?

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Primrose Schools. While I was compensated for this post, in no way has my opinion, experience, or knowledge been influenced and or biased, but purely an informational post.
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Staycation – Retreat on a Budget

Admittedly the Southwest Airlines commercials speak to me. You know the slogan right? “Wanna get away?”

My rhetorical question in return is “Does the sun rise in the East?”

staycation, hotels, hotels.comAs a mother, adult, and former traveler extraordinaire, I love to get away. But who says you have to reach the far ends of the Earth, comb the beaches of the Caribbean or peruse the boutiques of Europe to consider being on a retreat or to enjoy a vacation. Let’s revisit the first word of this paragraph which will segue into my explanation for a retreat. Mother. Yes, I have child or children in my case, which can often cause a serious reduction in travel. Why? You ask. Well my main reason for a reduction in travel is due to the birth of my twins. You see traveling with two infants and the entourage of gear required for their care could be equivalent to a domestic safari of sorts. However, now that they have evolved into walking, talking, and may I add talking again, little people travel has become less cumbersome. Nonetheless difficult though when you are now the minority and children are the majority.

Additionally, taking trips sans kids can also be difficult. Finding adequate care takers and or family willing to assume your children for a day, week, or even a few hours can be a rather disheartening to the couple wishing to have adult relations outside of the home where they can once again enjoy the company of their date. I know the hubs and I daydream of what life was like without children when we traveled and literally those memories are now daydreams for us.

But we are not letting the days of whine and runny noses get us down! In fact, my mother was so kind to gift us for Christmas gift cards for a weekend or night away from home. When we opened the gift and read the note, the feeling was much like letting the crazies out of the asylum to run the streets for the night. We could taste sweet freedom once again. In fact we got so caught up in getting away we couldn’t decide where the hell to go!

Have no fear though, the hubs is a resourceful geek of sorts. Bless him for having a Hotels.com account where he has been booking almost all of his travels for business, since he travels every other week he has become a domestic expert of travel accommodations. When the time came for us to book our retreat away from the kids, we looked at all the local resorts and spas within the Phoenix metro and downtown area. Finally we found a resort, spa, and casino close to home and even better, the price was right! So the hubs booked us a night at the Radisson Ft. McDowell Resort and Casino.

I was leery to say the least since the resort’s casino was known for being less than favorable. However, after reviewing the beauty shots of the resort on Hotels.com I was put more at ease and looking forward to our night and almost half day away from the kids to reconnect. I was put at even more ease when I saw the total cost of our sans kids retreat. $89 a night! With a sleep number bed, hot meal where I wasn’t required to cut anyone’s food but my own, no fighting kids for my own bed and pillows, and no worries of who would drive home due to the fact we both had some juicy alcoholic beverages. We just walked from the resort’s restaurant to the elevator and then to our room, a most pleasant evening, to which we retreated to enjoy additional quiet time as adults, reconnecting. Furthermore, we got up early enough the next morning to drive home but detoured for some breakfast at a local cafe.

Needless to say I was stoked we were able to get away and even better, Hotels.com helped us to stay on and within our budget, but were able to stay in a five star resort all  the more. Have you ever thought about a stay-cation when you cannot always get away for an extended vacation? Do you have the same struggles of child care when wanting to go on a date night?

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Mom Sells Weapons of Mass Destruction

Recently I found a new calling in the employment realm. This has been a truly liberating change in fields and needless to say I rather find living on the edge to be totally sexy and intriguing. My new job, in addition to all my other career paths, is as an arms dealer. Yes. I kid you not. I deal with weapons of mass destruction.

You see these two WMD’s are probably the safest on the market as well. You can keep them in your home without permit and their expiration happens at around the age of 18. You avoid the whole fallout issue as you would with standard nukes, the 10 mile safety radius, cancer, however, these two do not come without a price. Their side effects include headache, exhaustion, sleepiness, irritability, agitation, the uncontrollable urge to curse, this is all the effect on you….but if you want to clear a room or destroy one, these two are the weapon of choice.

In fact, they are so powerful, we had to keep them behind bars.

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Healthy Holiday Travel

This week marks the official beginning to traveling the week of Christmas. While most of us have already been traveling for the holidays with
Thanksgiving under our belts, literally and physically, we sometimes are not alone in our jaunts to visit family. Fall and Winter mark when reduced temperature and the gathering of people, and of course the conception of the cold and flu season with all the germs cohabitating such a rich environment. So what can we do to ward off, prevent, or even be proactive in the holiday travel season to reduce the spread of germs that cause the cold and flu?
My helpful hints when traveling in confined spaces for hours at a
time and to help prevent the spread of germs that cause the cold and flu viruses:

  1. Wash, wash, wash. Washing
    your hands is the single most important thing to do no matter what.
    Including after restroom use, after a sneeze, after anyone else
    sneezes or coughs. The saying, cleanliness is next to godliness is
    no joke when warding off or preventing the cold or flu.
  2. Carry tissue. Tissue can catch a sneeze, boogars for the
    kids, and this tool is such a simple item. Not to mention if you
    are stuck on a plane or train for your holiday travels, offer up
    one to your neighbor who might already be fighting a cold, cough,
    or the flu. Carry a box in your car, you never know when the kids
    may need a quick tissue.
  3. Carry disinfecting
    gel. Travel and pocket size are great for purses and on the go for
    busy moms, dads, and anyone else. Especially if you are again in a
    plane, train, or automobile for your holiday travels and are unable
    to get to the nearest restroom to wash your hands. Hand sanitizer
    is a great tool when used properly.
  4. Disinfecting wipes. I love disinfecting wipes. I have
    them strategically placed all over my house and a travel size in my
    purse for those not so clean moments, especially while traveling.
    Who knows when the last time that seat or upright tray was cleaned,
    so why not give it a good wipe down. Clorox
    offers some great products for disinfecting wipes to store around
    the house and even on the go.

Don’t forget that Clorox offers a great hard surface spray as well for cleaning those stingy
items that harbor germs and bacteria long after the holiday cheer. For a full list of helpful household hints to keep your family healthy through the holidays and while traveling this holiday season, visit the Clorox site for more details. Happy Holidays!

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Unconditional Friendship

For so long I struggled with friendship with women. I felt that I was the problem; either I was too giving, or gave too much space, or was too aggressive. I am a Leo so friends have to contend with my ferocity and often seeming selfish posture or arrogance. But I began to see a pattern of friends that would gravitate towards me like moths to a flame. I use this analogy with intensity because I found that the weak would draw to me because of my ferocity, my aggressive-aggressive behavior, my no holds barred, take no prisoners, go fuck yourself sense of being.

I state weak and I mean this, not negatively, just in the sense that I am such a giving individual that people would draw on this in order to get over their insecurities, because I am so giving, loyal often in the face that loyalty is unmerited and then the vicious cycle of attacking me in order to fuel their own new sense of self worth. Needless to say, women in my life were few and far between. The beguiling idea of women as friends was a farce. Men were much easier to interact as a friend due to the lack of competitiveness that often sparks among women. For what reason women feel compelled to enrage in jealousy and competition is unbeknown to me, I still have to encompass this facet, an enigma by all means.

However, my life was saved in regard to subduing the beast that would mean I may never have any “girlfriends” in my life. I had met many women online in this last year, for which I can go months without speaking to them and know that if I needed to stay up all night they would be there with me. More so my life was further saved and yet bittersweet.

In April I met a young Asian woman that is striking in all aspects and had the personality of the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory, offering flavors and varieties of fun, fashion, smell, and seriousness. Her name is Kasandra and I am honored to say she is a dear, dear friend of mine and without her I would not be the person I am today. She has had such a phenomenal impact on my life and she renewed my belief in women as friends, best friends, confidantes, and someone to be a sister from another mother. Each day was one where we would live vicariously through the other where I could relive being in my mid to late 20s again and she a mother. We would lean on one another for support, encouragement, singing praises of the other’s fashion forward sense and shameless beauty. We complimented each other in more ways than verbally praised.

Someone like her makes friendship all worth while. We never would feel jealousy, guilt, anger, or sadness toward the other. No matter what, no matter the circumstance, just pure understanding, the acceptance of each other and the different yet similar lives we both led. The basis that we shared a bond that could, will and always be deemed as a blessing.  Now I did mention bittersweet because on December 21st she boards a plane to Seoul, Korea to build and grow in her adventures in life. Selfishly I hate to see her go because she is such a fond part of my life, she knows me about as well as I know myself, and I delving as deeply into her psyche to know her sometimes better than she knows herself.

But with a heavy heart and all the love and luck I could muster, I wish my friend all the best as she opens and writes a new chapter in her life to share with others. Ever grateful, thankful, and as expressed previously blessed. I wish her all the best any one person can deserve as she fearfully and nervously ventures into a foreign world to sow her life oats. Someone like my friend Kas deserves a phenomenal experience and result as she is an amazingly beautiful and unparalleled human being. She brings joy, love, fun, and beauty to those she interacts with and one could only cherish and revel in the company she brings. Godspeed to you my friend and although you will be back in four short months, our mornings will be so opposite as when we would normally get Starbucks at our regular spot here in Tempe you will be either fast asleep or dancing the night away in a Thai or South Korean club depending on the day and your travels. I love you my friend and until we see each other again our bond will remain as strong as ever, I wish you all the best, thank you for being such a driving and wonderful part of my life.

“One of the most courageous things you can do is identify yourself, know who you are, what you believe in and where you want to go.” – Sheila Murray Bethel

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Back to School with Seventh Generation

Now that the fall school schedule has resumed and our kids are socializing amongst their friends and teachers that they missed over the summer a lurking menace is socializing with our children as well.

GERMS!

Disgusting, sickening germs that our children spread around as they touch things, sneeze, cough, you name it, they touch and spread this menace in the classroom and bring home to the family.

To prevent the spread of germs our teachers request that the students bring in hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes. But as a parent, I am rather particular about the disinfecting wipes, cleaners, and products my children use at home. Our family is especially conscious about the environment and the harmful chemicals in some disinfecting and cleaning products. Seventh Generation has an amazing line of cleaning, disinfecting, and paper products for your home that are environmentally friendly and the ingredients are botanically based, on chemically.

For back to school My Blog Spark and Seventh Generation is promoting their line of disinfecting cleaner, wipes, and products for a healthier home, classroom, and to help keep our children healthier while promoting a healthier world to live in by reducing our carbon footprint.

You too can enjoy the fruits of a healthier home on lots of levels by entering to win the prize pack offered by My Blog Spark and Seventh Generation! Here is what your goodies will look like:

To be considered for entry tell me what you do to help prevent the spread of germs with your child and would you like to use a product like Seventh Generation that is both healthier for your home and the environment.

(Comments like “pick me” and “enter me” and “I want to win” will disqualify your comment for entry into the giveaway.)

For complete entry options be sure to check out the rules page for details. Be sure when Tweeting you @SeventhGeneration to show your support!

CONTEST ENDS SEPTEMBER 25TH

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Mini MacGyver

broccoli, twins, boy, thefivefish.com

Humans are ever resourceful. Truly children though are BY FAR the most resourceful, creative, creatures with endless ingenuity. I knew when Grant was born that he would capable of great feats of genius. So much so that at the ripe age of two he maneuvered his way out of the house. Many times. Now I do not mean unlocking the deadbolt and walking outside, clearly he mastered this by the time he was walking.

No I mean The Chad and I installed a fail safe, no way in hell you can get out the front door, to stroll the neighborhood with the two dogs, operation. We installed slide bolts at the six foot level. We installed door chains (like the ones you see in older hotels). We so much as even installed deadbolts that you need the key. And. The. Key. Is. Hidden.

Alas, our attempts to keep said boy in the house failed.

Let me remind you, he was TWO when he picked up the broom out of the laundry room and lifted it into the air to slide it between the door chain and the door. He slide the chain to the keyhole opening to pop it out of position thus unlocking the door chain. Grant then placed the broom back onto the hanger from where it was resting, opened the door into the garage, snatched another broom to push the garage door button, and was well on his way.

Crafty little devil.

Redbull, kids, thefivefish.com, Karie Herring

When Thing 1 and Thing 2 came along I thought, “HA! Best of luck midgets, Grant got me good…no way you two will out do the boy!”

Then I ate my words.

  • Broccoli – Used as a weapon of ass mass destructionbroccoli, twins, boy, thefivefish.com
  • A colander….is now a step stool.
  • A toothpick….can unlock any bedroom door allowing for a carnival to take place in my bathroom where at least a half dozen rolls of toilet paper are used for dunking….in said toilet.
  • Toothpaste….the newest carpet cleaner.
  • Batteries….the 9V are used for fun. Place on tongue. Ensue giggling.
  • The recycling bin…a great place to recharge off just a few drops of the left over smidges of Pepsi Max in a crushed can.
  • The laptop? Used for a memory game. Mom….can you remember where all the letters go on your keyboard. (I kid you not!)
  • Vacuum attachments are used to knock things off counters, sweep counters for wanton items, oh and they make great swords.

Have fun Storming the Castle!

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That Love and Feeling

While I would love to serenade you to The Righteous Brother’s I will spare you my lusterless singing ability. But I will share something that piqued me to do this post. I happened to be helping a dear friend who needed to vent and was seriously about to lose her mind, much like the rest of us who are on the brink thanks to motherhood, and I was amazed at the observation she had about a loved one who is very near to delivering a baby. Mind you moms….a baby. An innocent, new car smell, bundle of peeing, pooping, boobie loving joy.

My friend told me how she thinks her dear loved one appears to not in anyway be attached to her unborn child. I was speechless. Seriously almost stupefied. But a comment and observation such as this is not the first to put me in the blond woman trance.

When I delivered the twins my mother made an astonishing remark to me the day they were born that forever lives in me; “How does it feel? Is it any different?” Okay is what different because I had a C-section so yeah that was different to have someone play with my uterus from the outside in AND I could feel the “tugging” which really freaked me the hell out. Plus the whole catheter thing…can you say GROSS! She continued to say, “Do you love them both…exactly the same, no more no less, you just love them?”

The amazing thing with carrying any child is that as a soon to be mother you truly either have that love and feeling or you don’t. You either build a primal, instinctive bond with your unborn child or you do not. I am a firm believer that although women were given a uterus that does not mean they were given the ability to love and rear a child…well rear yes, love and feeling, no. I also feel that some women are just incapable of those feelings on a higher plane period.

My pregnancy with Grant was amazing and I took so much for granted at first, but at about six to seven months when I really began to show and his kicks grew in intensity and my co-workers saw me flinch all of the sudden my belly was an alter of love. My friends and co-workers would flock to touch my belly, feel Grant kick, I knew I was beaming because I was so blessed with the creation of life inside of my body. I could feel these kicks and turns and hiccups ALL the time. To watch their faces was such a blessing, that I should cherish my pregnancy in spite of the heartburn, constipation, wetting my pants, cravings and awkward sex. A moment that these people, who were caressing my stomach like a love ball would not understand, and I needed to forget all my woes as I watched how my audience was in awe at my creation of life.

Now the twins…well…my reaction to finding out about my pregnancy spoke volumes as to my utter excitement. I had an almost acrimonious attitude, albeit I was delighted to be pregnant and that I was bound for a healthy pregnancy, but the thought of two individuals invading a very small space of real estate that is my uterus was less than a stellar thought. Once I went through my stages of grief in a rather swift fashion I was excited and I knew this pregnancy was a challenge.

The experience was all of a challenge. Carrying two healthy babies to almost full term and by not suffering from any illnesses or gestational induced diseases I had won the battle. But above all the experience was phenomenal. To feel two distinct individuals kicking, hiccuping, moving, I wanted to pet them, and so I did. I would spend hours rubbing my bulbous midsection that almost seemed alien-like. I would talk to them, sing, have big brother do the same and have him feel all that I felt, I was captivated by this pregnancy.

So upon their arrival I knew at that moment, that I heard each cry that I knew I loved these children. When Grant was born, I was overcome, I was wrought with emotion and did not want to let my baby go, ever! With the twins I was much the same and yet felt so hopeless lying on an operating table, fully lucid, unable to reach and hold my children, unable to unleash my raw emotion of birth. For hours I waited for them, waiting to hear and see them, hear more of their cry’s to know they are mine.

Finally when I was allowed the opportunity to hold them and see them I was hypnotized. I just looked at the two of them. In awe. They are mine. I did it and I just wanted to trace their faces with my finger and look at each tiny finger and toe as I had cherished so much with the birth of Grant. I broke down, overcome by the love so easily disbursed to these two tiny people. So when my mother asked me if I could love the two of them equally, just as I could one, I should have taken more sensitivity, because who wouldn’t love the two, equally and unconditionally.

But I can see now how the love for a child is so individual, how the love and feeling for a child or unborn child still in utero is based on the mother and the primal bond that either exists or it doesn’t. I truly feel for those who are incapable of loving a child in that way or unable to love any child for that matter, maybe a lot has to do with age, but I can say that the feeling of seeing your children for the first time after such a long gestation is something to be treasured, and one I feel each and everyday I see them. Regardless of the messes they make, the back talking, the fits, the absolute disasters and embarrassments I can still look at them and be hypnotized by that love and feeling.

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I Suck as a Mom

Not only do I suck as a mother…but just about every other uterus that has hosted the parasite child and or children that we love today is a suck-tatstic mom. I know…how dare I say you suck as a mom. Well admit..you do! Hell, all those ass hats who CLEARLY think they are such great human beings that camp out on Twitter, Facebook, blogs, in the “Self Help” section of Barnes and Noble, you know they MUST be better mothers, fathers, parent’s right? Look where you can find them.

Wrong. Here is why they can eat rat heads and suck a goat’s ass. Our parenting skills are courtesy of our parents with a twist, we take what we learn from them and put our twang into parenting. Think of it as a cubre libre, a rum and coke…with a lime. We aren’t given the master manual of how to raise our children to June Cleaver standards, which I am still researching, I believe June was flawed and…I know that if you are given a nickname like “Beaver” you are bound for fricking therapy!

I was talking with The Chad today about my blog. I told him I was so happy to take a step back, to see where I was, to look at the kids again in a different light and before I knew it we were discussing my book. Yes. A book. My book. The book I am writing based on the fact that I am a parenting expert who knows diddly shit! Just like all the other diddly shit knowing parents out there. We talked so much about all the funnies from our early parenting days with Grant. Simple items like ‘How to Feed Your Child.’ Sounds easy right? Wrong. If you were like us, we fed the poor boy until he puked. Yup. Projectile, overfilled the damn tank like they tell you not to do at the gas station, mistake of over feeding our kid. How were we to know? He just kept going….so we rooted him on like any good parent watching their child at a hot dog eating contest. Until we got the Poltergeist effect of formula hurled onto us with a projectile reach of at least five feet. Good form Grant baby….all over me AND dad.

We make mistakes. Lots of mistakes. Mistakes are not bad, mistakes are meant to be lessons to be learned. I look at mistakes as information that was mis – tooken. Yes, I mistook the information to be correct. I was not necessarily wrong, just an err. By looking at my mistake as a simple err rather than a brow beating incident that would result in endless mommy guilt that I would inevitably take out on my child who would take out on their child and we all would end up on Jerry Springer in therapy.

Being a parent is the hardest job on Earth. Our training sucks, the vacation time only gets better after 15 years of service (maybe less), the pay is wet and sloppy (but hey…I will take kisses any day of the week), and the hours are a bitch (Parenting gives a new meaning to the “graveyard” shift). So before you swing your royal gavel about being a parent or someone else’s parenting skills, take a step back and remember you may be pointing one finger at them. But you have at least three pointing back at YOU! Each of us that are parents do what we can with the tools we are given and we can build a bridge or we can build a fortress. Parenting is like a flower with each petal, each bloom, and each dormancy a new chapter in how we shape our children and ourselves. Making mistakes and learning from them is all the fun of looking back at how we have flowered, bloomed, and how we pollinated with beautiful people for whom we call our children.

Do your best, love your kids, and know that you are doing your best with what you know at THAT moment in time, in your life, and that you did and will continue to do right by your children and yourself. Because I know that I can look at my kids and know that I am not perfect, but I love each one of my children perfectly, no one can change that and no one can tell me how to raise them or love them.

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The Fish Out of Water

Goodbye is the healthiest action anyone can take when looking to end something. Everything truly comes to an end whether we realize the situation or not. I love to say goodbye. Closure. Finito. My finale. A closed chapter per se.

I am a soul seeker, I look for answers and when I am faced with numerous options and not the definitive answer I do what all people do…NOTHING. Why? Why act on emotion and the unknowing, why act on the drama of a three act play waiting for the curtain call only the curtains never do call.

I stated that I started my blog with specific intentions, my outlet, my freedom to express what life is like in my home (world), with my children, myself, and my husband. By no means am I saying I am “special” or a chosen one but just a socialite stay at home mom, housewife and former career woman who can share the angst’s of life and that we are not alone in our feelings, our momentary insanity, our trials in parenthood, our failures and successes as individuals in our many roles. My blog began to take a fun turn….reviews, giveaways, contests, Oh my! I was Dorothy traveling the yellow brick road, I was off to see the wonderful wizard of blogs. Only I felt more like Alice tripping down a rabbit hole, only that rabbit hole was laced with LSD and bad trips.

Taking a step back allowed and still allows me an insight into the world of “blogging” and the interaction in “social media.” What I find completely interesting is the dynamics in this virtual and alternate reality. I also saw a side of myself I did not like, someone I was morphing into that was not me. Even “me” wasn’t me anymore as I watched bits here and there of my soul being chipped away by those who could take my good heart and genuine sincerity and deplete my reserves, little by little. I watched as COMPLETE strangers made character assassinations in a weak and pathetic attempt to gain an advantage. One I can now look at and laugh hysterically at the sheer pain, anger, and rage pent up in such individuals to attack someone at such a level. Truly a sad, sad day for them in their actions, and an even prouder day for me…that I can take pity on their wretched souls as they burn from the inside out. Taking a step back allows for total and complete reflection, removing oneself from the aquarium.

Continuing on my path I would have morphed into the juggernaut of blogs. A completely destructive force to myself, my family, and those around me creating a catastrophic area of effect. Supernova is what comes to mind. A bright star becoming so consumed with itself burning into oblivion. What would be the purpose? Sure I could go forth and monetize my blog, become a “top mom blogger,” get great invites, go on trips, and then what? Really what is the next level? Total world domination. Why? What would be the reason? Is that really my goal? Is that really what I want? Nope. Why not you ask?

My goal has and will always be law school. I was a born negotiator, mediator, and royal piss you the fuck off because I am ALWAYS right kind of person. My goal is to continue to be the best, happiest, healthiest mom to my kids and so they learn what took me well into my 30s to figure out. My goal is to be a fabulous socialite wife and lover to my husband. My goal is to continue to be a strong and awesome friend, sister, and overall real deal of a human being, to continue to be true to myself and those around me.

Sometimes in life we become so engulfed in what we are doing, where we are going, who we are sharing with that we tear down the walls we had built with precision to protect ourselves from our own demise. Then we are entrenched into our situation we are blinded, almost delusional because our view of reality is so obtuse. Boundaries are created for a reason and if we do not respect or realize our own boundaries, no one else will either. Reaching center allows you to survey everything and take inventory.