When in doubt, wear a tie.

I substitute panty hose for tie when I think to apply this adage to my life philosophy. I am a believer in panty hose, and wear them as a physical reminder of the level of decorum a situation may call for. I am serious, without imposing an expectation of formality to others. By wearing a tie, or hose as the case may be, you are dressing yourself up without dressing down others. It says only nice things about you.

Inspiration

I was always so much better at "directed writing." You know, when the teacher writes a  quote on the chalkboard and tells you to "reflect." I would then proceed to kick ass. So, I was in the bookstore the other day, and I found an interesting Upon further research, I also found a tumbler site, http://rulesformyunbornson.tumblr.com/ which is offering continual tidbits of wisdom.
Now, I don't have a son. I have two daughters. I guess it is possible that I do have an unborn son, or daughter, waiting in the cosmos for me, so I picked up the book and cracked the spine. It is constructed like a 1950's Nancy Drew mystery, so it feels good in your hands, small but not heavy. The print is large, and there are some black and white photos to emphasise quotes. As I was reading, I realized that these were great rules, and that very few of them were only useful for men or boys. They were really great rules for living a life that allows you to be an individual of character and a character, at the same time. These were principles that I want my daughters to learn, and principles I would love to employ more frequently in my own life
So, I have decided to use this charming book as an inspiration for sharing my ideas about life, raising children, and being a useful, principled, and insightful character.

Netbook

So now I have a netbook, and I am sitting at my desk/sewing table/sweatshop, and I am blogging. I have a project in mind for a blog theme, so I will be writing more. We'll see how this goes.

My Brain is Tired

We are on a mission to find a suitable replacement for my minivan. We spent all day Sunday going around to car dealerships, both new and used, to get an idea of what is out there for us. I feel like we ended up with more questions than answers. I do not know what will come of all of it, but I can tell you one thing for sure. Hannah comes to me this morning and asks,
"Mommy, are we going for any test drives today?"
"No Hannah."
"But Mommy, I really like the test drive!"

Mommy Pissing Contests

I have a dear friend Jess whose son, E, is 13 months old. He is a dear jolly boy, who is very loving and enthusiastic. Jess is a great mom who loves her son and is plagued with the eternal doubt of motherhood: Am I doing this right? I am a tribal elder, with five years worth of experience under my belt. Jess often comes to me with her questions. Yesterday we were at a local play area when she related an experience in the official worldwide "Mommy Pissing Contest."
If you are a mom, you know what I am talking about. It generally starts off with an innocent question or complement, like in Jess' case.
"Your baby is such a sweetheart."
(Ready)
"Oh thank you. How old is your baby?"
(Set)
"He is just over a year. How old is yours?"
"She is 11 months, and driving me crazy with cruising and grabbing things off of the table."
(GO!!!!)
"Oh I totally understand. Little one there has been walking since 9 months, and is now climbing everything he can get up on. He is saying five words, and has been accepted to Harvard. Etc, etc, etc. Blah Blah Blah."
And so it goes. We wonder how the parents get to the point of fist fights on the sidelines of the soccer field. I theorize that it begins in the trenches of KidTime where parents feel prompted to stand up for their six-month-old's honor. I offer Jess assurance that it really is just drama that some overly competitive people feel compelled to create to give their own lives meaning. I am full of it (you know, sage advice!)
Please excuse me now, my 12 month old is asking me to change her cloth diaper and fix her an organic peanut butter sandwich. She is such an amazingly advanced baby.

What is it that you do again?

When someone asks me, "What do you do?" I wonder if I should get all snarkey and say something like, "I make milk, nurse a baby, drive hither and yon daily at the service of a five year old, all the time feeling guilty that there are at least three loads of laundry waiting, dinner to be planned and shopped for, and dog hair dust bunnies roaming wild on my hardwood floors."Then I would ask what they do, and they would say something lame like, "I'm in real estate."

The Jennyfer Look

Dr. Matt claims that I have one certain look that communicates various emotions and one sassy attitude. What he doesn't realize is that he has a look all his own. I am going to a meeting of my Beta Sigma Phi (Google It!) chapter tonight, and for some reason Dr. Matt had not remembered. When I reminded him tonight when he got home from work, he gave me the Dr. Matt look- roll the eyes, sigh dramatically, and walk away.

I will think about how I feel when he gives me that look for the rest of the night as I am out by myself, and every time he calls to ask me a question about caring for his own children.

We'll see.