Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Keep Calm . . .


. . . Or, completely freak out and cause yourself such an adrenaline rush that you have to stop the car because you are shaking so badly!

Mommy is only just now beginning to recover from the insanity of last week’s fire evacuation and then two days of what I’ll just call “practice for summer” (aka  “practice for just how much alcohol can mommy take in during a two day time frame just so she can keep her sanity in tact”) while the girls had two days off from school.

This is the second time we have been evacuated due to wildfires and the third time we’ve been through a major wildfire in San Diego (in 2003 we had my cousin who lived in Scripps Ranch stay with us for a few days).  

1/4 mile from our house approximately 45 minutes before we were evacuated.  (Mommy was sh*tting bricks too much to take a photo of the site when she pulled outside her driveway and saw flames behind the neighbor's house).

Firetrucks staged on our street for 2 days after the evacuation order was lifted so as to take care of flare ups.
I cannot tell you how in awe I am of the work of the firefighters and other first responders.  They are extraordinary and you can tell just how much of a difference additional firefighting resources (i.e. helicopters and large planes) has made in our county.  There were so many cool things that my friends did for the firefighters in our community, and they continue to do.  As a small token of our thanks the girls and I took a small basket to our local firestation to thank them!  If you have a chance, even if it's months from now, just pop in to say hi and thanks for all you do!  

We took strawberries, eye drops and chapstick.  We heard from a friend that these were good "practical" items that they can use.  Cases of water are also a good donation.
And, by the way, as further incentive, firefighters are HOT!!!  The two that greeted us were just yummy and I hope they didn't see my blushing (the girls were like deer in the headlights - I'm hoping it was because they were so impressed with the uniforms and big trucks, not with how hot the guys were)!!  To HfH - sorry honey, but I couldn't leave this last part out.

And of course, because this evacuation is like so many other things in our Runamuk lives, mommy had several lessons learned such as:

Friday, May 9, 2014

Mom where r u?

"Right beside you, always watching u while trying to resist mommy peer pressure and keep u safe!"

. . . is how I wanted to respond to one of the Superego's first text messages.  

She has turned 12, and with that comes the cracking of the cell phone Pandora’s box.  We’re still keeping a safety net in place, but the box lid is open just a bit and mommy is sh*tting bricks.  I’ve already received the “Mom where r u” text at least once (as I was sitting in the parking lot 10 feet away waiting for her).  I imagine it’s only the first of MANY.

For the record, that is a USED iPhone that daddy would not have had to purchase were it not for the fact that mommy's old iPhone looks like this:



As I enter Mother’s Day weekend with an extremely heavy heart for the moms whose hearts are breaking in Nigeria, I have had a chance to reflect on what it means to be a mom.  As exhausting as my “job” as a mom is, I wouldn’t trade it for anything and everyday I learn a little bit more about myself, my kids, my husband, and most importantly, my own mom!

And just because God has a sense of humor . . . my Mother’s Day week was off to a bang.  I had FIVE conversations with other moms about their children’s behavior, TWO conferences with THE SAME CHILD'S teacher, and ONE doozy of a conversation with a mom about my kids’ behavior; and THAT was only Monday!!!

It’s now Friday, and I feel like I’ve run a Marathon and I have to get up tomorrow and do it all again.  And no matter how many blisters I get, I am going to keep on running. . . .

. . . because my girls make me laugh harder than I could imagine, cry because I’m so proud, and feel joy that is indescribable when they reach their goals.  It’s because of that, and the fact that I have an incredible village of moms to help me raise my kids that I keep running.  It takes courage, strength, integrity and a whole lot of alcohol to survive this thing they call Motherhood.  One Sunday a year is not nearly enough to thank mine for all that she has done or meant to me.

And on that “mommy’s job never ends” note . . . last Saturday night I got a glimpse of just how wild 12 year-old kids can be with just a bit of sugar and a DJ.  It was the Superego’s birthday party and in a separate post I will cover one of the best parties we’ve ever thrown.

But first, as I enter what I’ll call the “junior high of motherhood”, I’m gonna share some cell phone greatest hits and what I’ve learned from other moms this week: