Year: 2007

Thoughts from the other side of the lawn

Once upon a time when I was a semi-high-powered career woman, I used to save the majority of my vacation time for December. I loved to have almost the whole month off during the holiday season. I could shop and bake and decorate to my heart’s content without having to worry about any work pressure.

I used parchment paper, made homemade bread and pretended like I was Martha Stewart, but with a better wardrobe.

It was always the best month. In fact last year, during my last weekend before vacation ended, I thought to myself that if I didn’t have to go back to work, life would be perfect. I wouldn’t have anything to worry about and my life would be an idyllic fairytale filled with rainbows, unicorns and birds that sit on your finger and sing.

And Ed McMahon would show up to tell me I’d won some type of sweepstakes.

Except that might be creepy because I’m pretty sure he’s dead.

Fast forward to 10 months later, and here I am. As of today, I’ve officially been out of the professional work force for 5 months.

People ask me all the time if I’m enjoying being a stay at home mom and the truth is, yes.

Yes, I am.

In fact, last night P asked me what my plans were for the day and I turned my calendar to the month of October. It was blank.

And I was happy.

I love not having to balance so many responsibilities. I love not feeling a cloud of pressure hovering over me at all times. I love not having to worry about some doctor with a major God complex telling me he wouldn’t write my drug if it was man’s last chance for survival, and I love not having to worry about doing expense reports on the worst expense report software in the history of man.

I love being able to lie in bed with Caroline in the mornings and watch cartoons. I love being able to make plans at the last minute and decide that we’ll go to the park.

Or even better, the mall.

But so far, the roses and rainbows and singing birds haven’t shown up.

Not to mention, Ed McMahon.

Because while, yes, I am so happy and blessed by this new phase in my life, it’s not the end of all my problems. It’s just created new sets of worries and concerns. I’ve merely exchanged one set of issues for a new set.

Now I worry about our private insurance and monthly payments. I worry about the cost of gas and insurance. I worry about spending too much at the grocery store or going out to eat too much. I worry about playing with Caroline enough and coming up with fun activities. I worry that she isn’t learning her letters when I hear SuperWhy asking on T.V. for a fruit that starts with an “A” and I hear Caroline yelling, “LEMONS!! LEMONS!!”

I worry about keeping the house clean and the laundry done.

Of course, probably not as much as I should.

It all goes back to the oldest trick in the book. The grass is always greener on the other side.

And in my mind, the stay at home mom side of the yard was lush and green and nicely fertilized with no mosquitoes. Who could have a care in the world on that side of the lawn?

I think, as women (or humans), that’s what we have a tendency to do. We look around us and compare our lives to others. Everything can look so perfect and pretty from the outside looking in, but do we really have any idea what’s really on the inside? I think all around us there are people who are hurting and who are lonely, but you’d never tell just by looking at them.

This whole change has made me realize that, short of God, nothing is perfect. Every situation has its burdens, it struggles, its worries. What someone else has can always start looking better if we allow ourselves to be tricked in to that kind of thought pattern.

I remember a few years ago when Lance Armstrong won his 86th Tour De France or whatever. I watched him accept his trophy surrounded by his beautiful wife and his beautiful kids and thought, wow, they HAVE IT ALL.

Shortly after that I read that they had filed for divorce.

Apparently, what was happening on the inside was different from what was happening on the outside. It was a huge reminder for me that no one has it easy. Life is made up of moments and, while some are perfect, some are not. The only person who really knows is the person it’s happening to.

And now I’ve rambled.

But I guess what I’m learning is to appreciate the blessings God has placed in my life. I don’t want to spend my life wishing for what someone else has because God, in His infinite wisdom, obviously doesn’t think that’s the best thing for me. And that may change, but it might not.

I want to be content where I am and with what I have. My prayer is to be like Paul and say “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength”. Phillipians 4: 12-13
Farewell to (maternity) arms

Well, the stomach ailment turned out to be more than a one shot deal. It was more along the lines of an hourly occurrence until about 6 a.m. Friday morning.

Here’s the amazing thing, I have never seen someone so cheerful in the midst of a stomach bug.

It was like this intestinal virus was the best thing that had ever happened to her. “Wow, MAMA! I threw up AGAIN! DID YOU SEE THAT? I MADE IT TO THE POTTY!!” Like she was announcing she’d just ridden the best roller coaster ever while they handed out cotton candy simultaneously.

God bless her.

In fact, she begged to go to school Friday morning. And trust me, the sleep deprived me, who had been doing laundry non-stop for about 8 hours, wanted nothing more than to send her to school. However, common sense prevailed and I realized nothing alienates fellow mamas more than spreading the bounty of a stomach virus.

We survived the plague and pestilence, and rebounded to have a pretty uneventful weekend.

In fact, by Sunday afternoon I decided it was time for the bi-annual cleaning out of my closet. This is an event that is highly anticipated around here, much like a root canal.

After church I decided to take the plunge and just go for it. P walked into our closet and this is what he saw.

He was quick to tell me I was being highly optimistic getting down all my sweaters out of storage. I like to call it wishful organizing.

For some reason I base my wardrobe choices on the month of the year rather than something sensible and logical such as temperature. I have grown weary of my summer wardrobe, plus the highs will only be in the 80’s this week.

The high 80’s.

That’s just chilly. If you’re over 95 years old.

Anyway, a while back, my friend E found out she was pregnant. I joyfully and generously offered her all my old maternity clothes. She came over and loaded them up in her car. About a month ago, shortly before her due date, she brought back all my clothes.

As I hung them back up, in the far recesses of my closet, I realized something.

They were hideous.

Okay, not all of them were hideous. There were, like, two decent shirts.

E was being sweet and polite, but $50.00 says she didn’t wear any of those clothes. And I don’t blame her one bit. I was completely delusional about my maternity wear offerings.

I wanted to call her and apologize for causing her to have to keep those clothes in her closet for 6 months. Most of all, I knew I had to get them back out of my closet before they contaminated my normal clothes. I told P I was getting rid of all my maternity clothes because, even if I were to ever get pregnant again, there is no way I could wear those clothes. It could cause lifelong fashion scars for my unborn child.

Here are a few prime examples of the ugly: (it was hard to narrow down the worst offenders)

Nothing is as attractive as horizontal stripes in bright colors when you’re 40 pounds over your normal weight.

Did I really think anyone would think I was on my way to play rugby?

Mmm. Overalls. So attractive anyway, but once you shove a tummy the size of a watermelon under those suckers, you’ve got a look that will cause people to pity you to no end. I am sad to say I wore these almost daily.

I now realize I looked like a fat farmer wearing shorts.

And these. Check out that panel. You pull out these bad boys and you’ve got yourself an incredibly effective form of birth control.

This isn’t maternity, but it is a “leather” skirt I bought on sale at Gap about 8 years ago. I haven’t worn it in about 6 years, but couldn’t bear to throw it out because it only cost $6.99. It was such a triumphal bargain moment at the time.

Of course that time was 1999.

So, between the maternity clothes and other items that needed to go, look how much stuff I cleaned out.

Since I’m acting like some sort of fashion expert every Friday on the internet, I realized PHYSICIAN, HEAL THYSELF.

And when it was all said and done, this is what I’m left with.

A glorious, organized closet filled with sweaters, jeans, and boots.

Now I just need some cool weather.

And another sweater coat.

Preferably from Anthropologie.

Oh, and in the last picture try not to notice the huge, white down jacket a la The Michelin Man. I got it on clearance from J. Crew about 5 or 12 years ago and I can’t bear to let it go.

Even though, as P was quick to remind me, there’s a much better chance of me having another baby than there is of me going skiing ever again.

It’s not that I don’t like skiing. I do.

I just don’t like the part that involves riding in a chair lift or actually going down the mountain.

Other than that, it’s a lovely activity.
Something new

In case any of y’all are wondering, you’re in the right place.

It’s a whole new look just in time for fall.

I owe a huge thank you to Laura at Swank Web Style. I’m sure she was about to pull out her hair with all my “Can we move this dot a .05 millimeter here and add a line here and can I see it in green also?”

Thanks Laura. I love it.
Until June Winner

We have a winner.

Heather at Life as We Know It was lucky #16 in the comments.

Heather email me your address and I’ll get your Until June CD in the mail. You’re going to love it!

Have a great weekend.
Edition 2: Fashion Friday

I’ll go ahead and level with y’all. This week has wiped me out.

Between a head cold and trying to keep up with all my DVRed shows…a girl only has so many hours in the day.

Oh, and I also had to bathe and feed my child. And P is kind of funny about wanting food to eat.

They wear me out.

In spite of my certain pneumonia, I’m forging ahead with Fashion Friday because there are questions that must be answered.

Questions that have kept me up at night. Much like my 4 year old.

And a skunk that is living under our backhouse and is very afraid of our dogs.

Do y’all want to know what irony is? The fact that I wrote all of the above just moments before I heard the retching sound coming from the baby monitor.

I just thought I had reached my limit.

What a sweet kid.

Enough of my tale of woe. Let’s get to the questions.

1. Elizabeth asks: “What kind of TJ Maxx has designer jeans?”

A good one.

I had long heard rumors that TJ Maxx sold designer jeans, but had never actually seen them for myself. I imagined it was a figment of people’s imagination, much like the sasquatch or a child that eats brussel sprouts.

Or anyone who eats brussel sprouts, for that matter.

Then one day I spied a section of my local TJ Maxx called “From the Runway”. It’s set apart from the rest of the store as if to quarantine the fine designer merchandise from the irregular sweaters from The Limited.

Look closely, it may be there in your store and you’ve just missed it.

2. Candace asks: “Is walking in heels something that can you can learn to do- or is it something you either have or don’t have the ability to do. I want to walk heel-toe, but with heels that high it’s hard. Should I buy them and practice around the house? Here’s my question- did you have to practice to learn to walk in high heels?”

I think walking in high heels is like any valuable skill. It takes some practice, especially if you’ve spent years walking in flat shoes.

So yes, practice around the house and equip yourself with perseverance and band-aids for the inevitable blisters. That’s my recommendation.

Bottom line, heels are your friend. Get to know them.

3. Jess asks: “Would you mind answering a hair question? I have shoulder length blonde hair – layers, typical. I’m constantly wearing my hair pulled back because I’m in a rush to get the kids to school. I’m thinking about either cutting in some bangs to just give my face a little softness when I do pull it back OR thinking about getting a short trendy cut which might be faster to do in the morning. Any thoughts?”

I realize this isn’t a fashion question, but hair is really one of our most important accessories.

I had an unfortunate incident with bangs earlier in the year, so bangs are dead to me right now. I know they work for some people, but those must be people who don’t have cowlicks in the middle of their forehead.

I’ve also noticed that more people stumble upon the blog by searching “Reese Witherspoon Bangs”, which tells me there are some women out there looking for hair answers.

Ladies, do not be fooled by Reese Witherspoon and her cute hair. I have decided her bangs have supernatural powers that most of us do not possess.

I’m a fan of the ponytail, but if you decide to get it cut short the best advice I can give you is to make sure it’s a time of the month where no hormonal surges are involved.

PMS + haircut = NOT YOUR FRIEND.

4. Leslie asks: “Fashion question for you. I am in need of cute fall tops to wear with jeans. I am in Houston so they need to be short sleeved. I also don’t want to look like I think I’m still in my twenties, nor do I want to spend more than $30ish each because I know by this time next year I’ll want something else. Any suggestions?”

Oh, do I understand this dilemma. You have the desire for fall type things in your wardrobe, but lack the fall-like weather.

I think the key is to find some cute, short-sleeved shirts in fall colors or patterns. Here are a few I found.

This one is from Old Navy and it’s on sale for $20.00.

Here’s another one from Old Navy.

Here’s one from Banana Republic. It’s a little pricier, but oh so cute.

Plus, it comes in green. Which I love.

And here’s some animal print goodness from Nordstroms.

Target is another great place to look for inexpensive fall shirts. I would love to link to some of them, but I just don’t want to right now.

Did I mention I got about 25 minutes of sleep last night?

5. Jen asks: “What are your thoughts on shoes moving into fall? I wear sandals all summer, and I’m a Texas girl, too, so it’s still hot in the afternoons. Is it OK to wear shoes that expose my toes, or should I cover them up?

As much as I love my boots, I can promise y’all I’m not wrapping my feet in socks until the temperature drops below 80 degrees.

It’s just not right.

Open-toe shoes are your friend, southern girls. Let them walk you through these times of intense heat.

6. Jodie asks: “Is it just wrong to wear a jacket that is too small to close??”

Yes. It is just wrong.

7. Several of y’all asked: “What is a pashmina?”

This is an example of a pashmina.

Basically, it’s a fancy word for a wrap. Or a shawl.

Because it sounds much better to say, “Let me grab my pashmina” than “Honey, will you get grandma’s shawl?”

It’s all in the way you phrase things.

So, that’s it for this week. I’m going to go crawl into the fetal position and attempt to recover from my night o’ stomach bug trauma.

Oh, and catch up on all the treasure recorded on my DVR.

Y’all have a great weekend!
Wretchedness

I have spent the day feeling certain that I contracted some type of black plague from Kiddie Park. How else can you explain the fact that I can no longer breathe through my nose and would like nothing more to than to sleep for days?

Everyone knows those are hallmark symptoms of the black plague.

Or a head cold.

Whatever.

So tonight, P and I settled in and watched “My Name is Earl” followed by “The Office” and I felt the best I’ve felt all day.

Shortly after the shows ended, I began to work on my Fashion Friday post, liberally dispensing amateur fashion and hair tips.

Then, two things happened.

1. I heard our dogs going crazy right by our bedroom window, then I heard a yelp.

And then I smelled the unmistakable aroma of a frightened skunk.

Did I mention it was right outside our bedroom window?

It was so bad it made the dog throw up on the back porch.

And speaking of throw up…

2. About 30 minutes and 15 vanilla-jasmine scented candles later, I hear the sound of what can only be described as retching being broadcast over the baby monitor.

Either Caroline has a stomach bug or the potato salad she ate with dinner didn’t agree with her.

It certainly didn’t agree with her sheets.

Due to all the foulness surrounding this house, I’m going to bed.

Therefore, Fashion Friday won’t be ready to go until sometime later tomorrow.

I hope.