You're never fully dressed without a smile - even a cheesy one

I have beautiful children. I really do. I also have photogenic children. I know I am probably a bit biased on both of these statements, but most mothers are, and most mothers are absolutely right that their children are both beautiful and extremely photogenic.

Well, I will admit my kids are photogenic, until, of course, you point a camera at them – more specifically when that lens is one of a professional photographer. Then they just look like they are in pain.

For the first time this year, my son had his picture taken at school. On “picture day” we talked about how he would smile (happy, relaxed), I had him practice how he was going to smile and as we waited in line for the photographer I had him practice a couple more times. He wasn't sad or nervous when he went up on the little platform, he jumped right up there. Then the photographer had him say cheese and this half smile/half grimace came over his face. Click.

So yeah, he has a beautiful smile, one that can light up a room, but for the remainder of this year the 8x10 that is hanging in our living room will show him looking like he's in distress.

That’s how it goes I guess. I am sure many parents out there have similar stories of smiles gone bad.  They do grow out of it as I have recently found out from my oldest.  They then however, start into a new phase. The I-want-to-make-a-goofy-face-in-every-picture-I’m-in phase. That or put bunny ears on their brother or sister.

While the oldest is making faces and the boy is looking like he is smiling through pain, the youngest doesn't want to be photographed at all. I have several pictures of her literally escaping the picture and others where she won’t even look at the camera. When I do get her look at the camera I end up getting one of those super cheesy grins, with all the teeth showing and eyes squeezed shut.

Better than nothing I guess. It’s still cute. Pictures of all of my children looking at the camera and smiling nicely are few and far between these days.

I would like to get some three year pictures taken of my youngest (since she turned three almost a month ago), but I must admit I'm hesitant. I have taken her to one of those places where they take a million pictures of your kid and then try to sell you 15 different poses in various sizes, plus a calendar, cards and of course the CD with every one of the million pictures they took of your adorable tot. All for the low, low price of … well let’s just say lots more money than I want to pay. I don’t need 200 pictures of my child. I love her, but come on that’s just getting obnoxious.

The only upside of those places for me, is that when it comes around the viewing the million and half pictures they took of my little darling, only about two are really any good. The photographers don’t even pressure me into the CD – then know the number of duds that are in there.

So we’ll give it a go with the new three-year-old. After all, I had three year pictures taken of the other two so I know I should.

Who knows, she may just surprise me.

Did this put a smile on your face? Even a painful one? Click on the Top Mommy Blog logo at the top and put a smile on my face. Thank you!

Like the proverbial chicken who has lost its upper most extremity

OK, hold on one quick sec. - I have to catch my breath ...

gasp, gasp, wheeze ...



There, that's better!

I feel like I have been running around like a crazy person these last couple of weeks! SO MUCH  STUFF TO DO. I feel like I am constantly behind. Right now for example I have grocery bags all around my feet needing to be put away and my youngest plopped in front of the TV (awesome parenting right there) so I can write this. Because I WANT to right this. I really like doing this, but it just feels like there has not been enough time to DO it. (Or, my fingers don't work, like yesterday. What was up with that? They still aren't working great today, but I will run spell check and get through it.)

Is it just me, or is May just a super crazy month? Every year it seems like it gets more and more filled with activities, practices, events etc., until BAM it's June. I mean what is it today - May 21? Wait, my phone says May 22. 22? Yikes - wasn't it yesterday May 7 and my youngest turned three? This weekend is Memorial Day right? Yup, good ... should be able to relax once we reach our final destinations. (Sounds ominous right? Ha, I'll just let you all wonder ...)

Yesterday I actually had a few minutes to decompress, so I went outside to sit and read (wish I could get into the book I am reading - just not hooking me yet). I had not been outside five minutes when my son came out.

"Mommy, you want to play catch with me?"

Whimper. I had just sat down!

"In a few minutes, buddy. Mommy wants to sit a bit."

"OK, I'll just play catch by myself."

AHHH - major guilt bomb!

Needless to say I got off my duff right then and there and played catch with my son. Busy or not, tired or not, I HAVE to do it. It's so important. I may be busy, but I can never be THAT busy.

Now I know some of you are saying, Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, you silly, silly lady. You don't know what busy is! If you took a look at MY life you would faint and sheer magnitude of things I must do in a day. And you don't see me complaining. And you are right, you are not complaining. But you ARE kind of rubbing it it my face how much more awesome you are than me and that is obnoxious which is complaining's loud cousin.

Is this busyness just my life now? As the kids get older and they are involved in more things (arguably things I sign them up for) will my life just stay this hectic or become more so? I already know the answer to the question so you don't have to tell me.

It's OK, I just need to come to terms with it and stop thinking it will slow back down eventually.

I mean it will eventually - when they are all in college ...

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Neither of my hands know what they are doing

I was going to post today, but my fingers and the keyboard do not seem to be compatible ...




(You don't want to know how many times I made errors in this sentence.)

More tomorrow - probably ... hopefully ...if my fingers cooperate ...

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If my kid sneezes in Albuquerque, I'll hear it

For the past two and a half weeks my husband has been fighting a cough. Since neither of us were getting much sleep because of it, the last several nights he has been taking some medicine to help. And by medicine I mean the drug that puts you slightly above comatose state.

It has been working fairly well, most nights which poses another problem - waking up. But not just him, me too. Although I have not been taking any medicine to sleep I still need my drugged up hubby to wake me up. Because I can not seem to wake up to the alarm clock.

I won't try to impress you or annoy you with the hour in which I wake up in the morning. I am sure it may cause some of you to roll your eyes. Suffice to say it's early for me but it also allows me to get some stuff done before kids wake up - namely exercise.

The other morning my plans were thwarted however because by the time I actually woke up - well when my husband woke me up - the alarm had been going off for 35 minutes.

How does that happen? How could I not have heard the radio blaring for more than a half hour? I guess I was tired.

My family used to joke growing up that I could sleep through World War III, and it some cases they would be right. I can sleep through thunderstorms and cars zooming by. I used to be able to sleep through ANYTHING, and it still holds true with all but one thing - kid noises.

Anything kind of noise my little munchkins make in the night - I hear it. I hear coughs, sneezes, cries, whimpers - you name it. I am sure this is some sort of biological thing that a moms get after having a kid. It makes perfect sense. They cry so much when they are little you become like Pavlov's Dog - any time you hear their cry you jump into action. Whether it's 9 a.m., 3 p.m. or 2 a.m.

Many moms can pick their child's cry out of a line-up.

It's a double-edged sword, this being able to hear your child in the middle of the night. It is good to be able to help them when they are sick (and sometimes avoid messy clean-ups, if you know what I mean), but it also can seriously mess with your ability to sleep.

My son is fighting a cough as well and the other night he coughed and coughed all night - even with medicine in him. And I woke up with every attack. There was nothing really I could do for him. He never really woke up either, just coughing in his dreams. But I did. I even went in his room, woke him up and gave him something to drink to see if that would help him stop coughing (and me to sleep). It didn't. How is it I can hear my four-year-old coughing in the next room at 3:30 a.m. but I can't hear Katy Perry blaring next to my head?

What I find the most humorous my super strength "mom ears" is that my husband does not have it. He CAN sleep through the kids coughing and sneezing etc. What he can't sleep through is the alarm clock, (except when he takes NyQuil).

I guess it's a good thing we found each other.

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I should write a clever title here - but instead I think I'll look at Pintrest ...

While I should be cleaning the bathroom right now (a task I loathe) instead I am procrastinating and writing a post - and in the process giving you something to read and helping you procrastinate from whatever task you don't want to do.

You're welcome.

Ah procrastination ... you lovely evil little minion ...

You are my Achilles heel and my comfy elastic pants I slip into an the end of a long day.

You force me to get things done much quicker than I ever realized I could and 75 percent of the time you help me to produce my best work. (The other 25 percent of the time? Well, we won't talk about that - the work is finished and isn't that an accomplishment in itself?)

Because there are other important things that need to be done. That repeat of Gilmore Girls isn't just going to watch itself, that You Tube video clip from last night's Daily Show looks really important and it's Throwback Thursday so I HAVE to search all my old photos to find one to post on Facebook. Because how else is everyone going to see me in my GIGANTIC purple glasses, huh? This is important stuff I am doing here.

Plus I just really really really don't want to clean the bathroom. I would pretty much rather do anything else.

I predict the house will be vacuumed and dusted before I tackle the bathroom. I'm sure there will be multiple logins to Facebook, email checks and other various Internet searches in there too ...

I'm am even procrastinating ending this post so I don't have to get off my duff and do anything at all. I don't really have anything else to say but I really don't want to do any work right now so I am just going to keep typing and typing. How are all of you doing? Enjoying your day so far? Sleep well last night? I stayed up too late watching the Tigers win but they did so that's good ...

Well I could keep going on and on and on (and on and on) but a cute little three-year-old just requested (well demanded first) a snack and as any parent know procrastination and three-year-olds don't mix ...

At least it keeps me from cleaning the bathroom ...

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