It's hard out here for a... ?

These days I'm really struggling with who I am. 
I know first and foremost I'm a mom. 
A friend. 
A daughter. 
A separated person who just can't seem to get divorced...And this is primarily where the problem lies.

I can't be myself.
I can't say what I want.
I can't do what I please.
I just can't be me.

Tonight, my friend Jodi Barker came over to deliver her self-proclaimed, "BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT EVER!"

I have to say I've been extremely curious about this gift for a few weeks.

I have pondered what could warrant such a label.

I have lamented over what could bring me such joy.

And now that I have it in my hands, I have to say: IT RULES!

Jodi turned my blog into a book!

From my very first post...

To the day the game changed...

To when I learned things were different...

And that this chapter was coming to a close.

From old summertime rituals...

To new concepts of family...

My tears, and fears, and thoughts, and loves.  My dislikes and strengths.  My big gains and ultimate losses.  Questions and answers.  Everything that's important to me.

It's all here. In my own words. In print and beautifully bound.


My dear, sweet, hilarious, Jodi:

Thank you for presenting me with this.

Thank you for showing me who I am and what I'm made of.

Thanks for reminding me that somewhere underneath this curly-haired mess, I'm still filled with sleek awesomeness!  :)

And thanks for reminding me that I absolutely adore writing.

PS I really hope we get to do this trip one day...

And that you learn to photoshop.  :)

The perfect simplicity of hand (and foot!) print art.

Recently, I discovered a blog at http://funhandprintart.blogspot.com/ which proves that anyone can be an artist.

I've always been hesitant to attempt anything crafty with my kids.  It's just not my forte.  But when I decided that some of the handprint art in my house needed to find a new home, I braved the whole artsy thing and came up with some cute stuff.

This is a reproduction of a piece that just had to go.  I LOVE crabs and I just couldn't lose such a cute idea!

Teague picked out our next project.

It was supposed to look like this:

But when I saw just how adorable Teague and Crews' plain black footprints were, I just couldn't alter them.

So we moved onto our next project.

A new version of our family tree.

I have to admit, this is definitely my favorite.

And THE perfect addition to our playroom.

The Spirit of Adoption (a.k.a. Happy Birthday, Dad!)

Sitting in church on Sunday, I found myself not really identifying with the sermon.  It was entitled, "The Spirit of Adoption" and I just kept thinking: I've never adopted anything.  I mean, I've purchased my share of furry friends, but I've never adopted an animal from a shelter.  And when I thought about having kids, adoption never really entered my mind. 

But sitting at dinner last night with my mom and dad, someone mentioned that I was about 6 inches taller than both of my parents, and wondered aloud how that happened.

It's funny.  We were at a convention dinner with business associates of my parents, some who have known me since I was 11 years old, and I suddenly realized that most of them had no idea that Bobby is actually my stepdad.  That's because he has never, not once, introduced me as his stepdaughter.  And he has never treated me any different than if I was actually his own flesh and blood.

Bobby is the kind of father children dream of having. 

He builds potato canons. 

He likes fart jokes. 

He thinks water balloons are hilarious.
 
He loves to be sneaky and try to get away with things moms don't approve of (I liked this quality a lot more when I was his partner in crime.  Now he just ends up getting my boys in trouble!) 

He is a fantastic candy maker.
 
He can design and build anything (including floats and decorations for my highschool Homecoming dance and Prom such as an entire life-sized pryamid and sphinx molded out of chicken wire and filled with crepe paper). 

He can fish. 

He loves heights. 

He picks up snakes. 

He has sent me at least 10 greeting cards a year for 23 years and randomly mails singing cards to the boys to make them laugh. 

He makes my mom smile. 

He is insanely outgoing. 

He supports me no matter what I do or how bad I mess up. 

He texts me silly pictures. 

He helps decorate my Clark Griswold house for Christmas. 

He looks like Santa.

And he loves Cabernet as much as I do.

It has taken me almost 23 years to realize that even though there is no paperwork, and a name change never occurred, I have been officially adopted.  And I couldn't be happier about it!

Happy Birthday, Dad.

Thank you for loving  me in all the ways a father does.

And I kind of wish we still had those matching Who Farted? shirts with the burn holes in them that we used to wear in the 80's!  The boys would think they were awesome!  And it would make a GREAT Facebook profile pic!  ; )

I love you to pieces.

What a difference a year makes.

If you know me at all, you know there are certain things I truly adore.

1) I love lists. (As evidenced by this list!)
2) I love taking pictures.
3) I love my kiddos.
4) I love chicken wine (Not really relevant here, but still it's a fact.)
5) I LOVE comparison photos!!!!

When Crews turned 2, I was excited for many reasons.  But the biggest reason I was so pumped was because I had spent the last 2 years dressing and posing him in the exact same clothes and places that I dressed and placed his big brother, and I could finally have a photo book printed!

I know, I know.  I'm a little lame.  And maybe a little too Type A for my own good sometimes.  But this was a monumental achievement!

So, as I was browsing through my 4th of July pics today, I noticed I had a few similar shots from 1 year ago that I wanted to compare.

July 4th, 2011.

July 4th, 2012.

July 4th, 2011.

July 4th, 2012.

These made me incredibly nostalgic.  Therefore I just HAD to share the photo book from years ago!

As it states below, Teague is on the left and Crews is on the right in each set of pictures. :)
(Note: If you click on the first picture, you can get a full view and scroll through in slideshow format.)

Thank GOD Crews got cuter!  What a frickin' scary looking baby!

Although I must say, looking back, I think the last page is strangely ominous.

Our Children's Museum rules.

When I was a new mom in Charleston and didn't know anyone else with kids, I started attending Gymboree classes and joined The Children's Museum of the Lowcountry.  Both were a great way to escape the house and meet other moms (And Dads! Wink, wink, Ray) and really find a place that I felt comfortable taking my squirmy new infant.

When I paid that first year's membership fee at The Children's Museum, I never dreamed that it would become such an important part of my life.  That was 6 years ago.

The Children's Museum of the Lowcountry, or CML, has meant many things to me over the years.  It was a place to go on rainy days.  It was a nice cool respite from the 102 degree heat in August before Teague went back to school.  It offered a private place to nurse both of the boys in between playtimes.  And it still gives me an opportunity to interact with the kids in a way I just can't achieve anywhere else.

Let's face it.  CML is fun! 

Where else can you splash water on the floor indoors and NOT get in trouble? 

In what other location can I name a pirate ship after both of my kids and pretend to be a man-eating mermaid while having rubber fish tossed at me?

Where else is it alright to lauch golf balls down a ramp in hopes of them taking a detour and hitting your little brother?  Ok, so that last one was added by Teague and might not be ok.

But seriously: CML is definitely not only for kids.  It makes you want to jump up and play WITH your kids.  How many places do you go that you can honestly say that about?

I absolutely adore it.

So last Fall when my friend Bonnie Geer, who is Director of Development at CML, contacted  me about starting a Parent's Advisory Council and asked me to be a founding member, I couldn't hit respond fast enough.  I think I might have even text message stuttered a repsonse.  I was SO excited.

I wasn't sure exactly what this Council might do or when it might materialize, but I wanted in.  And I am happy to say that not only has it materialized, but we have made some great strides over the last few months.

So far, we've grown from an idea to a council of nine people.  We have successfully helped Fam Jam move from a paid event to a free one for the entire community.  And last month, we held a meeting to nominate new members!  We have so many great moms in this community and I am truly honored to be a part of this endeavor.

If you know any great Mommy bloggers in the Charleston community, please let me know!  I am compiling a list and I don't want to miss anyone.  As a community, we can continue to grow CML, its membership, and make it the best non-traditional learning resource in Charleston!

So visit often!  Attend a class!  Sign your child up for a camp!  Or just go and be a queen or king in the castle for an hour.  You won't regret it.  And your kids won't forget it.

www.explorecml.org