Mom-Monday

How do you know when you are done having kids?

Every time I get asked this, I always want to laugh- you mean I can just decide I am done and they will all go away?

I suppose it would be better put as- How do you know when you are done adding children to your family?

Seeing that hubby or I have not taken any permanent steps to make it so we can not have children, I guess we can't say we are officially "done". However, we have been looking into pros & cons of different ways of going about being officially done. It would be stupid on our part to go blindly into any surgical procedure and not know the potential risks, outcomes, etc.

That being said, we feel we are done having more kids. We have 4 (well, 5) healthy kids. They are happy, they are taken care of. They fit in our car, and fit in our house. Hubby and I are starting to look forward to not taking a stroller and diapers along with us everywhere. We are looking forward to everyone being able to ride the rides at theme parks with us.

That being said, I don't think I will ever feel 100% sure and done. I still occasionally pause and think about what if. But that what if is getting farther and farther away. I'm more looking forward to babies I can visit (future nieces and nephews), then babies I have to lug around all day.

Doorbuster is a delightful baby, and I could easily have 12 of him, no sweat. But I think I'd like to look back on babyhood fondly, and not test it until I get a really grumpy baby.

Not Me Monday!

-I didn't go through the McDonald's drive through for the kids and then go through the Baker's drive through for hubby's and I's food. I'd never be so silly.

-I didn't let my child wear flip flops to her awana awards because she said "Jesus told her to wear flip flops". I also didn't play personal DJ to her as we drove in the car.

-I am not still in my pajamas at 11:00 in the afternoon. I always get dressed so I can be productive.

-I am not contemplating a trip to target just because I have coupons. I am also not having target withdraws because I haven't been there in 3 days.

-I am not procrastinating on returning a dress just because I don't feel like getting in and out of the car to return it. Yes, I have no problem going in and out of the car to go shop at target, but I don't want to go to the mall/JC Pennys.

-I am not procrastinating at putting the meat in the fridge into bags in the freezer, because I really don't like touching bloody meat. Once it's been frozen I'm good, but I don't like looking at it while it's not.

-I also didn't go to costco twice in one weekend- one for the big shopping trip, and once for the things I forgot to get.

-I am not trying to fit a disneyland trip in this week before school gets out. Nope, not me!

His, Hers, and Ours- Money?

I took the Doorbuster to his 4 month check up on Monday and blissfully got to sit in the doctor's office with just him. I actually had time to purse the magazines in the doctor's office. I grabbed a magazine titled "Family" figuring it'd be interesting.

Bad, Bad, idea. The main story was about working moms, and about a mom who blogged about working. Thanks to google, I even found the article so you can read it too!

I'm not big on moms working outside the home, but it really comes down to what works for your family and your choices. I'd rather spend time with my kids then have a 3000 sq foot house, brand new cars, and a boat. I know there are a million reasons why moms feel they have to work, and yes, some work and just barely scrape by. We all make our choices and we all make them work for us, and frankly, there are bigger things to argue about.

But the thing that really mad me angry, was this statement: “I love being productive, making my own money, and I want to show my son the value of an education and working toward your goals,” says Ordonez. “I don’t like completely depending on my husband for all my income.”

So, even though you are married, you have one foot out the door towards divorce? You don't trust your husband to be the protector and provider for you and your children? What a lovely thing to teach your son- your not enough to provide alone for your family. Maybe you should go get your own house to go with your own money?

A family works together. Everyone works together for the family. My husband goes to work to provide money to buy the family food, clothes, fun stuff, etc. I make sure the family is fed, is clothed, is taken care of. Just because I don't make "my own money" doesn't make me any less of a member of the family. My kids don't make their own money either. We all put into the family pot, we all take out of the family pot. There is no his, hers, money...only OURS.

That being said- we all spend wisely what is ours. My husband has no problem with me going out and buying some new clothes, or a book I may have wanted. I have no problem with him spending our money as he sees fit. We both think of what would benefit OUR family, and OUR money. I wouldn't go on a thousand dollar shopping spree, and I trust he wouldn't go on a thousand dollar beer fest. It's OUR money. Just because I don't get a paycheck doesn't mean I am not doing valuable work. The same goes for every SAHM who makes sure that every morning her hubby goes off to work, that he has clean clothes ready to be worn (even if she nags him to wash them himself), and that he comes home to a house that's still standing, with a happy wife and kids at the end of the day.

She also says, "Likewise, she writes, “SAHMs, please understand that working moms have various reasons for working, and that not all of us are so blessed to be able to stay at home as we’d like. Yes, we miss our children terribly, but some of us truly enjoy working, earning our own pay and pursuing career goals, and we do NOT deserve to feel like any less of a mother for doing so.” "

See, there's that "earning our own pay" again. I "earn" my pay in many ways. SAHM's "earn" their pay too. Thankfully, we are working towards OUR family's greater good, not our own.

And I'll end in my favorite quote.

"Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, if we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family, it's an unwise investment indeed, don't you think?"

Not Me Monday

It isn't me who thinks of yo-gabba-gabba in a completely dirty light.

It wasn't me who ate the last drumstick from the freezer.

It wasn't my kid who I lead screaming around the grocery store because she wanted to sit in the cart, and there wasn't room for her and the groceries.

It wasn't my kid who then decided to lay in the bottom part of the cart, under the basket.

It wasn't me who also thinks Should I stay or Should I go now, is also a really dirty song too. It's just wrong! It wasn't my husband who pointed that out to me!

It wasn't me who considered my Mother's Day awesome because I got to sit around in my pajamas and play warcraft, while hubby cooked & cleaned.

It isn't me who has decided to be done with trying to get my kids to clean their rooms, as long as the hallway to them is clean.

Trains, Trains, Trains!

It always amazes me how trains seem to be a universal bridge between generations. From the 2 year old playing with Thomas, to the adults with their detailed model trains, everyone can find something they like. I love looking at the miniature cities the trains drive by, and any train cars from the 40's and 50's. Of course, in the 50's it was cooler to fly then ride a train.



Having three boys, we own a lot of trains. Thomas trains, geotrax, and a few model trains from when my brothers were little, and when my husband was little. We love going to train shows, train exhibits, train anything. And the lego train club? We love them!



This weekend we went to the San Bernardino Train Days, at the San Bernardino Station. It's the train station they used in the movie Changeling. It's a beautiful station. My favorite part was the male and female separate waiting rooms. They had 1920's and 1930's cars, fire trucks, and a milk truck outside. There was also a 1920's (I think) steam engine with a bunch of passenger cars. You could even get a haircut in one of them! I think when it comes time for Doorbusters first haircut, I want to find them and take him there. How cool would it be to say you got your first haircut on a train?

Disneyland is cheap entertainment!

At least, when you have an annual pass it is.

We go to Disneyland at least once a month, sometimes twice. Sometimes weekly. There are some easy things we do to make it not break the bank every time we go.

1) Bring water bottles! There are tons of drinking fountains. The drinking fountains are free. Even if you forget and buy a bottle there, you can keep refilling it with water. The water doesn't taste that bad from the fountain, and its pretty cool. If you have the right size water bottle, you can buy the powdered drink mixes and have flavoring. Even if you buy food, skipping the drink (and remember to flash your pass for a discount) saves $2.45 each time.

2) Bring snacks! Disneyland does check your bags at the bag check. If anything is in a glass container, it will not be allowed it. This may or may not include baby food jars, depending on the bag checker. Be safe and put it in plastic. Pringles are great to bring since they can be put in a bag or stroller and not be crushed. It's also easier if you transfer any snack food that is in a box, into a large ziploc bag. It takes up way less space and you can reclose it as you need too.

3) Bring sandwich sized recloseable bags. You can use them to hold leftovers if you buy a meal or snack, you can use them to keep your keys and cellphone dry on water rides, you can use them to dish out snacks out of the big bag, to hold wet or dirty things, to put duck food in, etc.

4) Take a small, soft sided cooler to keep your water or food cool. A lot of the time we bring lunchables for the kids, and buy our food at the park. I like eating out and Disneyland has some good places to eat (aside from boring burgers). The kids eat chicken nuggets, which in my opinion is not anything special, so we don't spend the $5.00 on a meal (sometimes yes, mostly no). That being said, the chicken and rice kids meal is really yummy. I wish they served an adult version of that.

5) Go to California adventure and fill up on free tortillas and bread. Or bring some cheese and make a tortilla roll up. That being said, the food and wine festival has some good food!

6) Split a meal! The pancake breakfasts are really big. If you are a light eater, you could easily split the meal with someone else. This being that you have someone along to share with. Sharing with a stranger might be a little creepy. Or have breakfast at your hotel, poptarts/granola bars/strudels in the car, etc.

7) Eat breakfast at home (or on the way), have a very late lunch, and eat dinner on the way home. This is usually the way we go. The kids fill up on snacks (special treats for Disneyland usually), and are not that hungry most of the time.

8) Bring lollypops! Put one in their mouth and they usually stay pretty quiet and entertained while in line. Dumdums are great since they are small and usually able to be finished by the time you get to the ride.

And most importantly- enjoy your trip.

Talking About Thursday

I'm so happy Genny did Talking About Thursday's today! The topic is:
What about you? Have you ever been to a writing conference or another type of conference? What was your experience?

I've been to a few conferences. I went to the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference in Las Vegas. That one is HUGE. My feet hurt from all the walking and I wish I wore my tennis shoes, instead of trying to look good in dress shoes.

I've been to the Riverside Crime-Free conference when it was in Riverside. That conference was amazing and I learned so much! I got to hear Samantha Runion's mom talk about her foundation she started- http://www.thejoyfulchild.org/ It is a great program!

I went to the AAGIE Apartment Management Convention. That was an interesting one. Most of the stuff they talked about I had read elsewhere, but there were a lot of vendors there to get info from.

So those were all pretty much work related conferences. I'd go back to the crime-free conference in a heartbeat, it was really great!

For fun, I went to our local La Leche League conference. I loved how baby/child friendly it was. Most of the speakers I enjoyed (like listening to the Sears Family when they put on sessions). I learned so much about healthy eating, vaccines, breastfeeding, and parenting. I even brought my hubby into a few sessions. He wasn't too impressed though.

I also went to Blizzcon in 2008. That was a purely for my own enjoyment trip. It was so much fun to be a nerd with a lot of other nerds who actually knew what I was talking about. Plus, with a new expansion coming out, everyone was really hyped up about it. And getting to watch the dance contest, costume contest, and the band at the end was so much fun! I think as moms we need to spend time here and there to do things that are not only about our kids, but are things we enjoy as a adult and a person that don't involve spit, drool and poop. It fills us up so we can have more patience and love to give to our kids. I will be enjoying my time when I go again this year.



Me as "chuck" for the weekend...had to get my ticket off ebay. I didn't realize there were so many people who would want to go to such a convention!

Blogging about Blogging

I have no idea what to write, so I'm going to blog about nothing! I have no idea how so many bloggers out there come up with so much neat stuff. Maybe that is my problem? I read too much and don't write enough! I think the boring details of our life are...well...boring! We wake up, we get dressed, we eat breakfast, we do schoolwork, we eat lunch, we go to the park/run errands/do whatever, eat snack, play outside with the neighbors, eat dinner, bathe, go to bed. For the most part- rinse, repeat. Some days we say to heck with all that and head to Disneyland for the afternoon.

It's almost the end of the "school" year, but shhhhhh, don't tell my kids that! We are going to keep on with about the same schedule we have now, doing math and reading every day but changing history and science to be done on Fridays with Dad. Hubby likes earthquakes, so I'm going to find them all a day to go to cal tech and get a tour and maybe to go see some fault lines. I may stay at home with the littler ones and hope that they don't get swallowed up by a earthquake.

I've been letting the kids play in the afternoons with the neighborhood kids. Sometimes I go out there and play with all of them. I think I need to get a bucket and put all the chalk, jump ropes, etc. in it so its easier to take in and out instead of leaving the stuff strewn all over the living room. Sometimes I take the time to clean the living room without them in it. I'm being brave and letting them play relatively unsupervised (I pop my head out every 10-15 min, and have the windows open so I can hear them, and there's a big group of kids out there). It makes me nervous that some crazy is going to run off with my kid, but I know that's a pretty slim chance (probably a higher chance to get hit by a car if they ran in the street), and they need the outside playtime and friends. There is even a little girl who comes and asks to play with Beth, which is so sweet. I remember playing outside with all of my friends, and having tons of fun. I don't want to deny them that.

Now off to figure out if maybe I can write posts and schedule them! And maybe fix this blog so brown stops showing up first and it shows up right.