My Son, The Social Butterfly

For months now, my soon-to-be-21-month-old has been my errand buddy. I take him everywhere: the store, the allergy clinic (for me), the dentist, my daughter's school, etc. And he's always been a hit. He's not only pretty damn cute (totally un-biased opinion), but he's such a social and seemingly outgoing little guy.

He loves to say "hi" and "bye" to everyone - sometimes, repeatedly. I'm always amazed that even the coolest of young people my son accosts almost always responds. I hold my breath internally to see whether or not he's ignored. I've felt sad for my little guy the few times that's happened (but it's usually not intentional on the other person's part.)

I think my older daughter gets annoyed and sometimes, we all are get a wee embarrassed (like when he recently yelled "I tooted" in a chapel during a music recital.)

Now, don't get me wrong. The Terrible Twos are rearing their ugly head already, so my son's "toddler maniac" moments are almost always mixed-in wherever we are. But, in between whining and screaming for a beverage, a snack or the opportunity to walk, I'm hoping his charming greetings and farewells remain.

A Liebster? Isn't that a cleaning product?

Wow! My beautiful friend Melissa Smuzynski nominated me for something that sounds like an award for the best housecleaner (which I'm so not.) She's a former TV journalist who used to pound the pavement in Dallas/Fort Worth covering the hottest news stories. That's how we met, in fact, when I was doing the same on the radio. She's moved above and beyond that glamorous life and is now a mama to an adorable one-year-old, a public relations pro, a blogger and her family's travel agent.

Melissa has a sharp, engaging and helpful blog called Parenthood and Passports.

https://parenthoodandpassports.com/

It chronicles her precious little family's travels to exotic and far away locales with vibrant photos for documentation. Not only are her stories and reviews great, but her tips for traveling with wee tots are quite useful too! Because her blog is so sweet, she recently won a Leibster Award. And, she's nominated me for one too!!!

Basically, it's not really an award, but more of a way to promote and support others in the blogging community. Melissa is way more of a skilled blogger than me, especially since I'm still very much a newbie. But, I appreciate her kindness and hope she'll teach me about living in the seemingly infinite blogosphere.

Since I chose to accept this award, one of my duties is to nominate other blogs which I deem to be pretty outta sight. Outside of Melissa, I have just a handful of friends who also blog (the other blogs I follow are massive and don't need much promotion), but the list is still too long for me to add here. So! I'll just nominate one of my faves: my beautiful mommy friend (and former TV reporter/anchor) Lindsay Wilcox and her stylish blog Purely Lovely Living. She tackles many topics from family to faith and does so through useful tips and meaningful thoughts.

http://www.purelylovelyliving.com/

Should Lindsay choose to accept the nomination, then she'll basically blog about it as I'm doing now. There are all kinds of rules out there, but since this isn't a real award, as long as we stick with the basics, we're good. She just needs to write about her award, include a link of the nominating person's blog, answer some fun questions and pay it forward by nominating other blogs.

My final duty as a Liebster Award recipient is to answer a set of questions given by Melissa. (Lindsay's are farther down below.) Some were easier to attack than others, but here goes!!

Questions:

How long have you been blogging and why did you start? Not even a month yet - at least on my own site. I used to write fairly often for the blog section of WBAP.com - the website of my former employer.

If you could go anywhere in the world you haven’t been yet, where would you go? Admittedly, I'm scared to travel these days. If we travel without our kids, I'm worried that we'll die in a plane crash and our kids will be orphans. If we travel with our kids, I'm worried that someone will die because because someone isn't behaving. (I'm kidding about that last part, but our most recent trip wasn't very fun because of a cranky baby.) ISIS, which has a knack for turning up just about anywhere, has me terrified too. But, if I could remove those fears, I'd love to visit Scandinavia. It looks so clean and the air seems so fresh. I hear people there are happy too. Tokyo would be a dream sometime, but the massive amount of people and blaring technology might be a bit overwhelming. 

What inspires you? Other moms. 

Best meal you’ve ever eaten? Room service breakfast at the Omni Championsgate in Orlando, FL. My husband and I had this unforgettable Frosted Flake-dipped French toast, warm, buttery scrambled eggs, salty, thick bacon, etc. It was during our honeymoon. We'd wake up every morning and the full spread would be waiting for us on a beautiful cart in the dining room of our suite. And perhaps the best part? We didn't have a pay a dime for any of it. (A story for another time.)

What is your biggest accomplishment? That's hard to say. It could be the time I had my first live TV standup on CNN! It could also be the birth of my two children. 

What is one goal that you are working toward now? I'm hoping that during this time of being a SAHM and dabbling in the blogosphere, I'll come up with a "2nd Act" for when my littles aren't so little anymore. Mama isn't going back to radio. Mama needs something new and exciting later on.

What is the one place you would revisit time and time again? It sounds weird, but Lafayette, LA. It reminds me of my childhood because I'd spend the summers and holidays there at my grandparents' ranch-style home complete with carport. The culture there is so laid back. I love hearing Zydeco because it's so simple and charming. Oh, and the food. Seriously. Cajun food there in the heart of Cajun Country ... I'll just leave that right there. 

What do you love most about parenthood? There are so many things. It's exhausting and at times, frustrating. It's terrifying, too, as I'm always self-doubting my parenting skills with my older one. But through the echoey shrieks down the hallway and the thuds of toys being slammed into the walls, I'm always thankful for our little buggers. They've really enhanced our lives tremendously. 

What is the most out of your comfort zone you’ve ever felt? Usually meeting new people. Thankfully, my career as a news reporter helped me conquer the majority of that discomfort. My kids and my ever-rising age have helped too. I mean, I've got two kids and am almost 40, so who gives a f$ck? I can do this. (It's kind of my new attitude.) 

What is your one non-essential item that you must bring with you when you travel? Slippers. I hate cold feet.

What is one piece of advice you would give to your younger self? Focus much more on school and stop worrying so dang much. 

Questions for Lindsay: 

What inspired you to start blogging?

What do you hope others take away from your blog?

What is the best thing about being a mom?

What is your favorite thing to do by yourself?

When chaos breaks out in your home (ie. kids screaming, crying, fighting), what's your secret weapon to handling it?

What is your biggest weakness when it comes to your kiddos?

What is your favorite thing to do with your family?

The Fart Bag And What It Represents

If you're my Facebook friend, then you probably saw this picture on my feed recently:

It was from a friend who's five-year-old son had recently taken a Sharpie to her $300 leather handbag and, well, wrote "FART." She posted it on her Facebook page because she was legitimately asking for advice on how to get rid of the gassy graffiti. 

I'll admit, I laughed my ass off when I saw this picture. As more and more people chimed in with a joke or with a genuine cleaning tip, it eventually got dubbed the "FART bag." 

While this nickname made me laugh even more, it also created a sense of dread and fear. I have a 20-month-old son who's beginning to show signs of being a daredevil and getting into things he shouldn't. 

With my daughter (who's now 7), the worst she ever did was cut a few pieces from her hair using fingernail scissors. She got into some lotion or diaper cream one time too and it ended up on her face. Overall, my daughter's shenanigans were pretty tame.  

Having a boy, though, is a whole new ballgame for my family. We're having to deal with couch-diving, furniture-climbing, playing in the catfood, page removal from books, getting water from the refrigerator dispenser (and getting it EVERYWHERE), etc. While his mischief is still pretty harmless, I fear that it's just a matter of time before my little angel creates a FART bag - or something similar - all by himself.

The differences between boys and girls are really amazing. I mean, sure, there are exceptions to the rule, but for the most part, boys are so much rougher and daring than the girls. It's like they're made of rubber and their slower-to-develop (than girls) brains are simply wired to get into trouble - a lot. Boys' naughtiness factor is instinctual. Even the potty humor starts early - again, instinctive, it seems. (Although my son's appreciation for fart jokes may have also come from me.)

On the flipside, it's also true that boys really are much more loving to their mamas than their girl counterparts. That part, I live for. The random hugs, calling my name and running to me when he's scared or sad ... you can't beat that. But, his inner-ornery is rearing it's tiny little head and I fear that a FART bag may one day be in my future. 

***Footnote: my friend was able to return her FART bag to just a bag, thanks to Magic Eraser.***

Nine Years Later ... Crazy!

Today is my wedding anniversary. It's crazy to think back to that crazy day nine years ago and then to look at my crazy life since then.

My husband and I won a dream wedding contest and I still look back at that time as though it really didn't happen. I mean, it really was a dream. (At least it felt like it!)

It was so easy to get wrapped up in the wedding planning, the cake-tastings, the dress-fittings, the TV segments (yep, we were on local TV), the bachelorette party (with the penis cake that really was delicious) and I must admit that I never really thought much about what it was all really supposed to be about. I'm an only child who lived alone for many years. So, the realization of living with someone and having to compromise often with that person really didn't kick-in until after my husband and I were wed. I had no expectations about what my life would become.

That leads me here today. Nine crazy, yet fulfilling years later.

And really, now that I think about it, there's nothing crazy about it.

It dawned on me in recent years that my husband and I have that deep kind of love you get when you've been with someone for a long time. I think it's also strong because of the bond we have through our kiddos. Our love is the real deal - the kind that keeps you together when you're so old and wrinkly that you don't leave fingerprints anymore. It's the kind of love that stays strong even when your partner passes wind and doesn't realize it. It's the kind of love that withstands conflict, stress and tragedy. It's the kind of loving relationship that I'm damn thankful for.

Life is definitely different now compared to nine years ago, as well it should be. We're not two anymore, but four (and some old lady cats.) We're tired, have way more gray hair, constantly take TV naps and can no longer have private conversations unless it's between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. But, our lives and our love are richer for it.

I anticipate my future wedded years to be filled with with more belches at the table, smelly children, a messy house, microwave dinners (from me), piano-playing, guitar-playing, sports-playing, cropped-pants, t-shirts, tears, laughter, movies, wonder, hugs, piggy-back rides, family dance parties, special trips to Toys R'Us and rare date nights with the man I married almost a decade ago. I wouldn't have it any other way.