Like Mother Like Daughter

Well, the day is here already.  I thought I had at least another ten years to go, but as it turns out, yesterday was the day that I officially turned into my mother.  I have various memories of shopping with my mother as a child and almost all of them include me following mom down aisle after aisle until she found the perfect bath towel.  At the time, it seemed mindless and exhausting, until yesterday, that is when from an aisle in The Christmas Tree Shop I spotted a wall of dish towels and with eyes lit brightly with joy, I exclaimed "Ooo dish towels!"  I immediately caught myself, but purchased some towels anyway.  I knew that at some point in my life the day would come where I too would be excited by the thought of buying new towels, but deep down inside it still stings a little.  :)

The crinkle, smooth and plasticy.

Green, crumble, crumble, down.

Feel for the hole,

Don't let it breathe.

The click of the fire,

It's burning up, red and black.

Pull it in,

Fill your chest with fire.

It burns a hole in your heart,

and you breathe.

It's in your head, your eyes,

It makes you lighter,

Runs through your body,

Until all that's left is air.

Your heart is flying,

And the music moves through you,

With its skit skat beat.

That old song plays in your head.

You are home.



"Being a nice person is way too hard and being a bitch is way too easy." - unknown

I consider myself to be a truly kind hearted person, but I would be lying if I said that I don't often times feel taken advantage of by people who know me to be a nice person.  With that said, I realze that my life could be much easier if I just shut that part of me off.  There are many people that only look out for themselves and have no problem walking on the backs of others in order to get what they want.  Even though I am aware of how simple it would be to give in and only look out for myself, I refuse to succomb to that.  I will continue to be kind to everyone I meet and will always give people the benefit of the doubt.  I refuse to turn off my humanity.  People have become so robotic, slaves to time and jobs and because of this I can not simply shut off the human side of myself that continues to believe that people are ultimately good.  It is surely easier to only have to worry about yourself, but we are all in this together and I will not turn my back on the goodness of the human heart. 

Kill 'em with kindness!

My close friend, Melanie Arigo, took this photograph and we agreed that this picture was symbolic of the affect the human race has had on the earth.  This is nature, everything that is pure, beautiful and authentic in the world.  Yet, even out here where the earth rolls and curves, sunlight dances across the leaves and the sky is clear and calm, there is a sign that we have touched this place.  We have stepped on these rocks and brushed passed these branches.  Even out here, where the land is still just the land, man has made his mark.

What Women Want!

     

  Some women want money and nice things.  Others are after someone with a kind heart or a great sense of humor, but since most women at some point share the same feelings in their relationships, there must be something that is universally desired. 

"Women desire to have sovereignty over their husbands and their love." - Wife of Bath's Tale

        For anyone who may not be familiar with the tale, in short, a knight is forced to learn the secret of what women most desire, in order to save his life.  From the mouth of a decrepit old woman, he gets his answer.  In exchange he must marry the old woman.  According to the tale, the secret of what women want most is to have power over their husbands and their hearts.  Women do not want to be taken for a ride; we want to know that we have just as much control as you do.  It is not that we want to control everything, we just want to know that our partner respects us enough to let us call the shots, at least some of the time.  I do not want to "wear the pants" in my marriage, but I do want to know that my opinion is just as valuable as my husbands. 

       The Wife of Bath's Tale ends with the knight having to decide whether to keep his wife ugly, but faithful or to have her be beautiful, but ugly and untrue on the inside.  His ultimate decision is to let his wife decide what is best.  Lo and behold, that had been the key all along.  His wife transforms into a beautiful woman who is true and loyal to him.  All she wanted was for him to give her the power to decide.  Women want to feel that we are considered your equal.  Our role, whatever that may be, is just as important to our relationship as yours is and thus our opinions are just as significant as yours.  Women were created from the rib of man.  We belong next to you and what we want most is to know that you respect us enough to let us walk at your side.

Have a wonderful day!

No Strings Attached

I have a girl friend that has been having a "friends with benefits" type of situation going on.  She was truly only looking for casual sex and things were going pretty well until the guy decided to tell her that he only wanted to sleep with her.  She was cautiously optimistic about the possibility of his being sincere.  In the days following he went on to ignore her calls and told her "I'm not going to stop what I'm doing for you."  Well isn't this just the perfect picture of how men will find a way to mess with your head no matter what you do.  All my friend wanted was some no strings attached sex, but this guy had to go and complicate things just so he could screw with her head a little.  Why do men do this?  It's sick!  You are playing with someones mind and heart for your entertainment purposes.  We are good people who give men like you the benefit of the doubt, and in return we get the door slammed in our face.  And then, when you finally quit messing around and make the decision to settle down and get married, you complain that your wife is a nagging bitch.  Well yeah sometimes she is and heres why:  every single man before you has done everything in his power to toy with her head and weaken her.  Yes, it makes us a little crazy sometimes.  In short, it's hugely your own genders fault that she ended up like that so deal with it.  And for any of you out there womanzing right now, remember that one day you may have a little girl of your own and everything that you have done to women is what your daughter will one day have done to her.  Think about it.

Happy Wednesday!

It isn't any trouble just to S-M-I-L-E !

We are living in a fast paced society.  We drive fast, eat fast, walk fast...I get it, you gotta keep moving!  BUT would it kill anyone to say "hello" or "good morning" or at least spare a smile?  We all have our own stuff going on.  At one point or another life has been unkind to each and every one of us.  I get that your having a bad day today, because I had one yesterday.  Stop and say "good morning" to someone on the street, you may just make their day.  One friendly face may have been all that person needed to turn their day around.  So, so what if the girl at the check out was rude.  When that happens you have two choices.  You can choose to be rude right back to her and now not only is she still having a bad day but now you are in a bad mood too, OR you can choose to smile at her and tell her to have a great day, you never know, maybe she will.  And as a side note if you ever happen to see a mother out struggling to control her kids, nothing she says to you can be taken as rude.  She gets an automatic pass (yes, this means you must smile and tell her to have a good day) because believe me wrestleling children into shopping carts, carriages and car seats will make even the nicest person a bit grumpy.  So what I am saying is that you should start your day with a smile on your face and spread it to as many people as you can.  Tomorrow might be your bad day and you will need someone to lend you a smile in return. 

Oh, and on another side note if you ever see a mother with her children and carriage and diaper bags and other assorted paraphernalia that she is carrying around, you had better hold the darn door for her! 

To the lady who walked through the open door that I was struggling to pull my carriage through while talking on her cell phone last week...eff you!  Oops...I mean, have a great day! :)

Do something kind for someone today, then come back later and tell me about it!

Have a happy Tuesday!

Paintball & Piñatas

We ask ourselves and each other often why are children are becoming increasingly violent.  What is wrong with kids today?  What's wrong with kids today is that they are living during a time when violence is at the forefront of almost everything they see.  Consider this.  What can American families be seen doing to celebrate their child's birthday?  How about paintballing followed by a junk food fest and finally, my favorite part, the beating of the piñata.  So first the birthday child and his friends run around a man made war zone, shooting each other with guns until only one survivor remains.  Next they sit down to a well balanced meal of pizza, cake and soda.  And finally, mom and dad buy a replica of the child's favorite cartoon character and he and his friends take turns beating it to death and collecting its "guts" off the floor.  Well now that I've laid it all out there, I bet it makes a lot of sense.  Our kids are out of control because we are training them to be this way.  So maybe this year when you celebrate the birth of your child you will consider going back to the good old days, when a birthday party consisted of a clown and a cupcake.  Next time your child asks to play a video game, tell him to go outside and use his imagination.  He can step outside and enter any world his little mind can dream up OR he can sit on your couch with a controller and pretend to steal a car.

Your call!  ;)

Happy Monday!

As I wander,

Up the hall,

I trip on race cars,

Down I fall.

I'm in the bathroom,

They knock and yell,

I rush to answer,

They have something to tell.

They spilt the juice,

On my just washed floor,

and colored on every,

Wall and door.

I found jelly on the counter,

and cookies in the rug,

One is running towards me,

Showing off a bug.

Their noses are drippy,

Their fingers sticky,

Their faces are dirty,

Their play things icky.

They throw their toys,

and bump their heads,

They fight and wrestle,

And jump on beds.

But all I can hear,

Despite the noise,

Is what they whisper,

At night, my boys.

"Ok, boys,

It's time for bed."

"We love you mommy"

Is what they said.

So though the house is usually a mess,

The floor scattered with toys,

I love every second of this life,

Spent with my little boys.



"It is never too late to be who you might have been."  -George Elliot

I was married with two children by the time I was 22, and although I wouldn't take back a moment of the life I created, there did come a point where I questioned if I could ever be anything other than a wife and mother.  Was I capable of accomplishing anything more?  Before having my children I had dreams just like any other young woman, but as my family grew it seemed that all my doors were closing while my friends had the whole world open to them.  It took three years of beating myself up before I realized that the only way to cure unhappiness is to get up and keep moving.  Nothing could ever get better if I didn't get up and at least try to get everything I wanted out of life.  So I made the decision to go back to school.  My goal was really just to finish my degree.  I had no plans beyond that, but somewhere along the way i fell in love with learning.  What a fantastic opportunity I have to be able to go to school, I would be a fool to waste this chance.  I wanted to fulfill my dream of becoming a writer and am finally pursuing something that I love.  I am still a wife and mother above all other things, but I am also just Kristina, the young woman, the student, the writer.  It is never too late to be who you wanted to be, thought you could be or would have been.  You can have it all, the kids, the husband and maintain your own identity, you just have to be willing to chase after all those things you want.

* If there is something more out of life you want or a passion that you wish you would have followed, take one step towards it today. *

Happy Thursday!

Ode to Caffeine

Is it wrong to be turned on by the sound of your coffee brewing in the morning?  I think not.  Coffee eases me into a through my days like a dear old friend.

Coffee, coffee, in your mug,

Your warm and sweet like a best friend's hug.

Lipstick smudge around your lip,

You awaken me with morning's sip.

That was entitled "Ode to Caffeine."  I hope you enjoyed it, for it was one of my finest works.   ;)

This blog has become a fun way for me to let off some steam, while at the same time entertain those of you who are going through the same daily chaos that I am!  So how about a good old rant about mornings, shall we?  Aidan and Nicholas woke up at 7:00 am and really anything after 6:59 is considered sleeping in for me so we are off to a good start!  I try to shield my eyes from the sun and from the Little Einsteins that have taken over my bedroom television.  What better way to start my day then with a "rah rah rah for rocket!"  Since Aidan and I both have school this morning, breakfast consists of anything I can reach for and toss onto a plate or into a bowl at a record speed.  So today casa de la Kristina served Lucky Charms!  My younger son informed me that he doesn't like "yucky charms" while my older son protested against the milk I had added to his cereal, apparently he prefers his "yucky charms" dry.  My mistake.  Aidan's school is also collecting...(hold that thought, Aidan just asked me to stop sweating him?)...dimes for some charity so my morning also consists of searching every crevice of my house for dimes because the class that collects the most dimes gets a pizza party and what kind of mother would I be if I didn't nearly kill myself so my son could win a pizza party?  Well my mornings here are if nothing else entertaining, right? 
I also would just like to take a second to thank anyone who is reading this.  Writing is truly my passion and it is a wonderful outlet for me to get out any of my frustrations and transform them into something to laugh about.  It is an excellent practice and very theraputic for me, so thank you for laughing along with me at my often crazy life!  Have a beautiful day!

Pumpkin picking and other shenanigans..

This weekend my children and I celebrated all the wonderful things that fall has to offer, fairs, festivals, pumpkin picking, petting zoos, pony rides and hay rides.  As I pulled into the parking lot of the farm we went to on Sunday, I thought well my kids are old enough to walk now, this will be the first year that I don't need to push a carriage through miles of farmland, fantastic!  What I forgot about, is how heavy pumpkins are, especially when you make a contest of who can find the largest pumpkin.  So picture me in the middle of an open pumpkin patch trying to usher my kids through the muddy field while carrying four giant pumpkins, a diaper bag and the sand art that they had just made.  There was no way we could continue our day out with my arms loaded with pumpkins so I made a split decision to grab the kids and run for the car to retrieve my carriage.  This was perhaps one of the most ridiculous moments of my life.  I had Nicholas on one hip, diaper bag on my shoulder, while balancing four pumpkins and some sand art, while holding Aidan's hand as he ate a spongebob ice pop.  Walking was not an option, so I was literally running for the car while spongebob freakin' squarepants dripped down my sleeve.  When we finally made it to the car I threw all my stuff to the ground like I had just won some sort of grocery shopping challenge (you know with the crazy women pushing shopping carts full of whole chickens around the supermarket like psychos).  From there we were able to continue our day without any more major catastrophes.  Word of advice: Even when your kids outgrow their carriages, they are still very useful for lugging around pumpkins and other assorted heavy things and I will never leave home without mine again!