Stay at home (super)Mom!

So I had a week off and decided to take a little staycation at home with the kids. The goal was to have Carson potty trained during that week and get some things done around the house. Things seemed to be going well when carson was potty trained by Monday afternoon. I remember thinking for a split second "now what are we gonna do?" since most of the weeks agenda was focused on that. Quickly things spun out of control and by Wednesday evening there was a tearful S.O.S. call made to my mom. What I didn't understand was how I could be so miserable at home spending time with my kids. I mean isn't this what people dream of? All those comments I get about "don't you wish you could stay home with your kids all day?" "don't you feel bad leaving them at daycare?" This week off was supposed to be "died and gone to mommy heaven" right??

I'm not sure if it's because I'm not used to being at home all day or if I'm dependent on the luxury of bein able to run errands "kid-free" sometimes, but trying to get things done while watching them was harder than anything I'm tasked to do a work. Mentally AND physically draining! We're talking that "I haven't sat down all day, been eating while standing while spooning while cleaning and slicing strawberries at the same time all day long" draining. And eventually I ran out of gas and broke down feeling guilty and confused. Why was this not heaven for me? Should I even consider having more kids? How do my stay at home friends do this??? Do they have really messy houses?? Do they have super powers?

I wiped away the tears and decided to just throw the kids in the car and head out to the playground for some fun. The kids absolutely loved the swings an I felt a sort of calm come over me. Until Carson Said "Mom I gotta go pee!" I quickly looked around to see if there were any outhouses near by. Where was Dad when we needed him for the "teach how to pee on a tree" lesson? Basically I took him near the woods and pulled down his pants and pointed at the tree. He looked at me like I had 4 heads and politely said "Mom I have to go to the bathroom!". I tried a few more times toget him to go on the tree without making a scene and finally packed the kids up
And crossed my fingers he could hold it util we got home. (he did).

Thursday I sent the kids to school for a bit to take a Xanax  breather. We were in the middle of re-financing our house and I didn't want to take both kids into the bank. Friday we decided to go to the zoo and take my niece and nephew too! We had a really nice time! So I came to the conclusion that if we just relax and do fun things, I really enjoy myself. But when I'm trying to get things done, and have all these plans, and nothing works out how I planned...I get really frustrated. I also realized that I'm constantly trying to pile way too much onto my plate. (why did I start blogging again??! Haha). I want to have a career, be fit, eat and cook healthy food, have a clean house, spend time with my kids, be a good wife, manage the entire house and finances, spend time at church and quiet time with God, take and edit photos, write a blog, wear fashionable clothes etc etc etc. it never ends. Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm go-go-go-go. I know it will all get crazier when the kids are in activities etc, so I'm gonna have to force myself to slow down sometime.

So if you have ever asked yourself "what do stay-at-home Moms do all day?" Do yourself a favor and never ask one of them that question. It truly is one of the hardest Jobs, and they do more than you could ever imagine. I'd love to hear some tips and tricks and how to get my hands on your super powers  from my stay-at-home friends. How in the H E double hockey sticks do you do it all?? Then the nerve to post pics of your kids eating Brussels sprouts to top it off...really??? Really?? How many Thomas toys did you have to pay out to stage that photo? Haha There was definitely some peace last night when I set my alarm to go to work. I thrive on schedules...routines..and a little "me" time. I know having a career makes me sane  the best mom I can be. I know I'm setting a good example for mmy kids and showing them how to work hard and support a family. I absolutely love my job and feel that I have a good work/life balance and a lot of time to spend at home w my kids. But seriously...I could use some super powers!

Main Campus Disaster

Ok....some of you who know me, know that I possess a "big city" phobia of sorts. No I'm not afraid of big cities per se, I actually love going downtown to fun events (Go Browns) and nice dinners. However, when it involves everyday life and running errands, I get huge anxiety when it involves a "downtown" of any sort. Somehow there is always some sort of traffic jam, getting lost, random pan handler, parking nightmare whenever I embark on a downtown errand. A few specific examples come to mind, but my interview at UH stands out for some reason. I decided to live out my dream of doing pediatric anesthesia and applied for a position at UH. I left with what I thought was plenty of time to arrive early, but after sitting on Carnegie Rd at 9 billion traffic lights, I quickly watched time slip away. If you know me, I'm very type A and cannot stand to be late for anything, let alone an interview. I'll shorten up the story with I ended up having to park on floor 15 of the parking garage (aka roof) in the pouring rain and frantically called the interviewer (5 minutes late) and asked him to just come find me. My dream of doing peds anesthesia quickly turned into a nightmare and the situation ended with me politely withdrawing my application on the way out the door and realizing there was no way I could work there when I could barely handle showing up for an interview. Since then...I've been known to drive an extra 35 minutes to get an ultrasound done if it means I can avoid main campus.

Where am I going with this? Well...my paranoid type A self has been known to diagnose my kids with a few different issues/diseases. Ive been told by my pediatrician to stop "googling", "WebMDing" and "Go back to work" before. So once again...a little paranoia + "google.com" created disaster in the Moore household. Next thing you know I am convinced Macie is cross-eyed as I scrutinize every move she makes. I decided to take matters into my own hands since my pediatrician thought I was crazy shrugged off the idea that Macie had an issue. Knowing I had the week off, I made a bunch of calls to make her an appointment with the eye doctor. Of course I did everything I could to avoid main campus, but with the time frame I had...it was un-avoidable. And of course google.com said "Best outcome with earliest intervention", so this was some sort of emergency in my mind.

So last night I started mentally gearing up to go down town. I packed our bags (they said the apt could last 2 hrs so I wanted to be prepared) and made a plan to leave an hour early so if I hit any snags, frustration would be at a minimum. I plugged in the address into my GPS and off we went. Everything besides the traffic jam/car accident on I-90 seemed to be going smoothly until we got off on Carnegie Rd. I could feel my heart rate rising as I started hitting each traffic light. There are signs posted everywhere about how all the lights are monitored by cameras. Now if you know anything about main campus Cleveland Clinic it's a little bit like this...
Exhibit A

 

Ok I'm exaggerating a little bit (not really). So of course when my GPS prompted me to make a wrong turn twice, I was in a very not good place in Cleveland. SO I decided to scrap the whole GPS thing and take things into my own hands. I decided to just start looking up in the sky at the 9000 Cleveland Clinic buildings to see if any of them said "Eye" on them. The lady on the phone said it was "well marked". As I'm trudging along....I find myself in this situation. 

Exhibit B

 

So where do you think I ended up? Of course...in the RTA Bus only lane. I was sandwiched between 2 RTA buses and a cement barrier and starting to get worried that some random was going to try and open the door thinking it was an RTA bus.

Finally I got myself out of that mess and was greeted by a big sign that said "Cole Eye Institute". I'm finally in the clear with 5 minutes to spare right??? WRONG! As I pull up to the parking garage, a lady walks up and says "Sorry were full!, just make a left, a right, another left, 2 lights down and a right, and you can park there for free!" I roll my eyes and try to remember how many lefts and rights I needed to make. I finally find the parking garage, and have to drive around in circles for 7 floors until we get to the ...yep....roof! Of course...it was pouring rain again. I was having deja vu of my UH interview experience, except this time I have a little baby that I have to drag through the pouring rain as well. I load up the baby in the rain and start running towards the nearest shelter so I can try to find my way back to the "Cole Eye Institute". Now if you know anything about the Cleveland Clinic..you know it looks like this.

Exhibit C

 

 SO here I am, soaking wet and running through the 9 billion skyways like a lunatic trying to find my way back to the Cole Eye Institute. I guess I can't complain too much since it was better than doing it in the rain, but I felt like I was on the amazing race. I'm surprised I didnt alert the Cleveland Clinic Security since I was running as fast as I could through these "skyways". So as I'm trying to avoid having an MI (heart attack for you laymen), I finally arrive to my destination....17 minutes late! I decided that I didn't care if Macie was cross-eyed the rest of her life, I was NEVER going back there she was perfect in my eyes. Awww! 

The story has a happy ending though. The doctor said I am crazy Macie is perfectly healthy and she just has a wide bridged nose (another thing she can thank me for later). I count my blessings everytime I think there is something wrong with one of my kids and I walk out with a perfect bill of health. I always say a little prayer for those parents that will get some other unexpected type of news from leaving that office. I truly am grateful for healthy kids, but next time, I will try harder to avoid going downtown. Even if it means I have to drive to the countryside somewhere. The End!

A New Beginning

I decided to start blogging again because I really missed putting my random thoughts down. I also find it's a good way to document the fun things going on in our life. It's so easy to get caught up in the craziness of having a family and forget some of the good times and silly things that have gone on. Like they say....it's all the small things in life. (But then those same philosophical people say "Don't sweat the small stuff")..go figure. However, my life no longer revolves around running! Shocking right? After having two parasites children in less than 2 years, I am putting most of my time elsewhere like sleeping! No wait....a woman can dream right? So I decided to create a new blog entirely and this is it! The S'Moores!

Last night we got a babysitter, which marks a huge event in our life! This was the first time we've left the kids (plural) with someone for more than an hour! I told the bride that we were looking forward to her wedding more than she was for that single reason. As much as I love spending time with my kiddos, it is very refreshing to break free get out and enjoy ourselves with other adults! The wedding was fabulous, and everyone had a great time. The kids had fun torturing spending time with someone else besides us, and Carson even woke up asking if his babysitter was still here.

In other big news, Carson is doing AWESOME with potty training. I think by the end of this week, he will be completely potty trained. He never has #1 accidents, but occasionally has a #2 accident. I have the next week off and have devoted the entire week as "OPERATION POTTY TRAIN"! Who does that? Takes a week off of work to sit at home and potty train? Ahhh...the glamorous life of a working mom. Be Jealous!


p.s. I will be completely re-designing this blog soon. I just needed something to get up and running. And yes...there will be an awesome picture of a s'more on it. Oooey Gooey marshmellowy goodness and all :) Psssh..and dont forget the chocolate!