A Non-Boring 2012

Wow, what a year! I know it's cliche to say, but it really did go by quickly. It seems like just yesterday that I was writing about Alec's 4th birthday, and now my little guy is almost five years old! How is that possible?

2012 brought lots of memorable posts for Mommy's Always Write. With the end of the year upon us I decided to take a look back through my posts and reminisce a bit. Here are some highlights from the year...

The year began with my discovery that my boys have superpowers. You would think that once I discovered this amazing phenomenon, the rest of the year would seem somewhat boring. However, the rest of the year was anything but boring.

Mommy's Always Write experienced some exciting changes as my blog joined the world of social media on facebook and twitter. I also enjoyed my fifth Mother's Day, where my one wish was to get a picture of me with my boys.

As we headed into summer, I created a plan to help me survive the summer home with my boys. Chad had me in tears of laughter at something that happened to him when he was on "Daddy Duty" while I was out. But I think he had it coming to him after he left me alone with the kids for six days when he had to travel for business. We also took a family vacation to Florida, complete with a tropical storm and an encounter with a guy named "Big Taco."

As the end of the summer drew nearer, I had an INCREDIBLE opportunity to be a featured blogger on the Scary Mommy website. I'm still pinching myself to make sure I'm not dreaming about that one. The last few weeks of summer included a solo trip with the boys to visit my mom. I also discovered four things that have me trembling in fear as a mother.

By the time summer was over, I was ready for the boys to go to preschool. I don't think I could have handled another trip to the card store with both of them in tow!

Once the boys were both in school, I assumed I would be cranking out the blog posts left and right. Turns out I was wrong! I guess I was too busy losing sleep and worrying about the flu shot.

Before I knew it, the holidays were upon us. In the spirit of Thanksgiving and being thankful, I had the great crazy idea to do a blog challenge sharing something trivial that I am thankful for every day in November. I really have no idea what I was thinking. Somehow I managed to complete it, but I don't think I'll be repeating that challenge again next year! November also came with another exciting featured blogger opportunity, this time for the SITS Girls website.

By the time November was over, I think I went into writing hibernation. Or maybe I was just busy getting ready for Christmas. Either way, I took a few weeks off from writing to enjoy the holidays with family. During this time, I managed to take quite a few pictures, including some that captured my boys in some interesting situations. Needless to say, these photos won't be making the Christmas card any time soon.

So here we are at the end of the year. It's been a good one with some interesting twists along the way. I'm looking forward to seeing what 2013 has in store for me, though I have a feeling that it is going to be just as non-boring as 2012...At least I hope so!

Christmas Photos that Didn't Quite Make the Card

If you read my post about my attempt to get a picture of me with my boys on Mother's Day, then you know how (not) well that went. Or if you're a parent of young children, I'm guessing you can relate to the number of pictures you need to take to get just one good one. So I'm assuming you can guess how many photos we had to take to get our Christmas card photo.

I figured rather than let all those unused photos sit in photo land on my computer, I would share them for you to admire. So I present to you, our 2012 Christmas photos that weren't quite card-worthy...

If I had a kid trying to pull my beard off and a kid admiring his belly button while on my lap, I think I'd have this same expression

Christmas Card Photo Attempt #1

Christmas Card Photo Attempt #2

Christmas Card Photo Attempt #3

Christmas Card Photo Attempt #4

Mom with her little reindeer fish

Child Christmas cookie labor, complete with sunglasses to prevent any bright glares from the Hershey's Kisses

Hey, if Chad got a picture of my butt for Mother's Day, I am required to return the favor

Christmas morning photo #1: I guess photos should be taken before potty runs

Christmas morning photo #2: Digging for gold

Christmas morning photo #3: Apparently Alec was having some personal issues this morning

So there you have it. My family at its best. Well, maybe we're not at our best, but it's our true personalities showing through here folks. If you want the Christmas card version of the boys, here were the winners...

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

I Am Thankful For...The End

Well, I hate to say it, but I'm glad this month is over. I've enjoyed coming up with daily things to be thankful for, but I have to admit it got to be a bit challenging... I guess that's why it's called a challenge!

Of course I will continue to be thankful for all the blessings in my life, both big and little. But for today I'm thankful for a break from writing about them! ;)

In case you missed some days or want to get caught up, here is the complete list of days, including links to all of them:

Day 1: Grapes
Day 2: Frozen Peas
Day 3: Grandparents 
Day 4: The Number 7
Day 5: The Terrible Twos 
Day 6: SITSahs
Day 7: Diane Sawyer
Day 8: Other People's Kids
Day 9: Sippy Cups  
Day 10: My Oldest Child 
Day 11: Bleach
Day 12: 65 Degrees  
Day 13: Babies, Bellies, Wind and Fruit Snacks 
Day 14: People who don't realize that I missed a day. Oops!

Day 15: Aunt Suzie
Days 16-21: My Six Best 'Friends'
Day 22: The Real Stuff
Day 23: Garden Hoses  
Day 24: Musical Christmas Toys
Day 25: Friendsgivingmas
Days 26 & 27: Thumbs and Hairdressers
Day 28: Frosty The Elf
Day 29: The Week After Thanksgiving
Day 30: The End

*In the spirit of Thanksgiving, "I Am Thankful For..." is a blog challenge I have decided to do during the month of November. Each day I will pick one thing that I am thankful for and blog about it. Obviously I am extremely thankful for the many things in my life I am blessed with, such as a wonderful family, my health and my family's health, great friends, a roof over my head, food on the table, and more. But this series is about all the other day-to-day things that I sometimes take for granted and that make life just a little bit better -- you know, the little things. To see a list of all the posts in this series, please click here.

I Am Thankful For...The Week After Thanksgiving

Chase spent his first Thanksgiving a drooly, whiny, miserable, teething mess. He picked Thanksgiving of all days to start pushing his first two teeth through, and he sure let the world know that he was unhappy.

Rosy cheeks, snotty nose and pushing teeth make for a less than happy little boy for his first Thanksgiving

His second Thanksgiving (last year) we had just gotten done passing the stomach bug through our family, which we proceeded to share with our extended family. 'Tis the season for giving, right?

This year, his third Thanksgiving, he didn't let us down. Thanksgiving morning he sported a wonderful 102 degree fever. My usually very happy, active 2-year-old was replaced with a glazed-eye snuggle bug. We all took advantage of the snuggles, but I would much rather have a healthy boy.

One week later, I am thrilled to have my happy, bouncing off the walls, goofy bundle of energy back. So today I will be thankful for the week after Thanksgiving for providing me with my healthy little boy again.

*In the spirit of Thanksgiving, "I Am Thankful For..." is a blog challenge I have decided to do during the month of November. Each day I will pick one thing that I am thankful for and blog about it. Obviously I am extremely thankful for the many things in my life I am blessed with, such as a wonderful family, my health and my family's health, great friends, a roof over my head, food on the table, and more. But this series is about all the other day-to-day things that I sometimes take for granted and that make life just a little bit better -- you know, the little things. To see a list of all the posts in this series, please click here.

I Won the Lottery!

Ok, so the chances of that actually happening are even less than 1 in 750,000,000 since I didn't buy a ticket. I'm gambling on the the hopes that one of my family members or close friends has the winning ticket. And that they remember to share with their family members and close friends.

But I have to admit that all this hype over the $550,000,000 jackpot is a little bit tempting. I mean just look at all those zeros.

Seriously though, what would I even to with all that money? Sure I would donate a ton of it to various charities. And I would pay off the house. And the car. And my kids' college tuitions. And I would travel the world. Oh, and I would share it with my family and close friends.

But after all of that, there would still be money left over. So here are a few things I would do with the leftover money.

• Pay somebody to make Caillou's voice considerably less whiny and annoying. Seriously, what 4-year-old is really that whiny? (And this is coming from a mom with a really whiny 4-year-old.)
• Launch a line of kid's toys that actually do what the adult versions do. If those toy vacuums and lawn mowers actually cleaned and mowed the lawn, I'd never have to touch my vacuum cleaner again. Not that I touch it much now...but I digressed.
• And while I'm on an inventing kick, I might as well invent a dryer that actually folds the clothes too.
• Create a mom's version of Pinterest. Let me clarify. A version of Pinterest that normal moms could actually use. Like how to not burn freezer food instead of how to build the Eiffel Tower out of uneaten peanut butter and jelly crusts.
• One word: Wine. And lots of it. Heck, maybe I could even buy a vineyard.

I'm starting to think maybe I should go buy one of those tickets after all.

I'm seriously considering paying someone to make this kid less annoying, even if I don't win the lottery. I might have to sacrifice the boys' college funds, but it would be money well spent.

I Am Thankful For...Frosty the Elf

Frosty is the name that Alec gave to our Elf on the Shelf, and for most of the holiday season last year, Frosty was known as "Frosty the Elk." Fortunately Alec now knows the difference between a little person who helps Santa and an antlered mammal.

After Frosty made his appearance this morning, my boys have been nothing short of angelic. I only saw one quick brotherly shove, which Alec quickly realized he shouldn't have done and promptly showered his brother with kisses.

I know I'm the parent and I'm the one responsible for teaching my child to behave. But it's sure nice to have some assistance from one of Santa's helpers. I mean, Alec may have shoved Chase, but at least he knew he did something wrong... That should count for something, right?

Frosty's novelty will eventually wear off as Christmas gets closer, but for today I am thankful for this happy little rosy-cheeked Christmas miracle.

*In the spirit of Thanksgiving, "I Am Thankful For..." is a blog challenge I have decided to do during the month of November. Each day I will pick one thing that I am thankful for and blog about it. Obviously I am extremely thankful for the many things in my life I am blessed with, such as a wonderful family, my health and my family's health, great friends, a roof over my head, food on the table, and more. But this series is about all the other day-to-day things that I sometimes take for granted and that make life just a little bit better -- you know, the little things. To see a list of all the posts in this series, please click here.

Universal Mom Rights

As mothers, most of us have endured months of growing bellies, morning sickness (and afternoon and evening sickness), peeing into a cup, heartburn, sleepless nights, glucose tests and inappropriate comments from strangers. And that's all before we could even hold our kids in our arms.

I'm not saying that it wasn't worth it, but I have decided that there simply needs to be a set of rights for mothers. A set of privileges that a mother may call on at any time for any reason. I propose the following list, which I believe will be perfect for my boys as well as many other moms.

As your mother, I reserve the right to:

• Sneak into your bedroom at night to watch you sleep so I can convince myself that you are not in fact the demon child that I swore you were just a few hours earlier.
• Tell you that I am eating carrots when I just shoved an entire Twix bar into my mouth.
• Lock the bathroom door at any time, even if your world is ending because you can't find the Mickey Mouse toy that you got for your birthday two years ago that you haven't played with or asked about since. Because there are really some things you just don't want to see your mom doing. Ever. You will learn about these things, things such as "that time of month," when you are older, and you will thank me for not scarring you for life.
• Respond to any of your questions with "because I said so" as many times as I feel necessary.
• Hide wherever I want to during a game of hide-and-seek, even if it is in a location that you are not able to get to.
• Force you to play, yes actually play, with a friend when they come over for a playdate.  

What rights would you add to the list?

I swear I was eating carrots. That candy bar wrapper on the counter was from the playdate you had yesterday. Remember, the playdate where I had to force you to play?