Perpetuating the Mommy Stereotype

Before I dive in, I just want to take a moment to lay down a big ol' disclaimer.

When I am talking about perpetuating a stereotype, I'm not talking about unhealthy, prejudiced, mean, hateful stereotypes. 

OK?  OK!

I was telling Aaron the other day that I don't like to perpetuate the mommy stereotype.  And, to be honest, I'm not really sure what that all entails, and I'm sure it's a little different for everyone.  

I think it started with the slippery slope that is the minivan.

Aaron and I swore that we would never get a minivan.

Never ever ever get a minivan.  Minivans are not awesome.  They aren't edgy and exciting.  They look like big eggs.  

Soooooooo, yeah we got a minivan.

And once we got over the uncoolness of the minivan, we found that we really liked it.  What it lacked in style and awesomeness, it more than made up for in its incredible functionality.

Stow and Go for the win!

From there, it's all down hill!

I found myself talking about my kids' poop.  A lot.  I never even knew that was a thing.

I was concerned about spit up.  Overly concerned about spit up.

When Leah turned 1, I panicked about her not transitioning to cow's milk very well, and said frantic things like, "She's needs the healthy fats for proper brain development!!!"  So, yeah, I gave her chocolate milk.

I cry on their first days of school...every year.

I consider grocery shopping by myself to be on par with a beach vacation.

I've been listening to the freaking sound of music LIVE soundtrack for weeks and weeks and weeks to make drives more peaceful.

I take care of them before (and better than) I take care of myself.

I worry.  Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot.  Sometimes over the most far-fetched, ridiculous stuff, and sometimes over things that might be slightly possible.

And, most recently, I got really excited to see a movie about moms with some mommy friends.

Perpetuating the mommy stereotype galore!

I can't be stopped!

But, in the case of mommy stereotypes, certain things are stereotypes because they're kinda true.

And I think the underlying truth is that becoming a mommy changes you.  

My 25 year old self didn't understand what it would be like meet these tiny people who were wholly dependent on me.  

I didn't know that I'd be able to recognize their cries on the day they were born.

I didn't know that merely the sound of my voice would be the best parts of their baby days.

I didn't understand that I'd feel so very responsible for every part of their lives.

I didn't know that my heart could be so full of love even in the midst of being maddeningly frustrated with them.

I also didn't know that there would be times that I couldn't remember when I last took a shower.

But, the best surprising truth was how I got a tiny glimpse into the perfect, sacrificial love that God has for us.  I'm a wildly imperfect mommy, but even in my failures and mistakes and sins, I understand a tiny bit better about how God loves us enough to eagerly give us His best in Jesus...because that's how I want to love my girls.

So, yeah, I'll be overly excited when I drive someplace by myself in the awesomely functional minivan.

And I'll be thrilled when I can sit at a coffee shop by myself with a book.

I'll get choked up when I realize that my daughters are getting older before my very eyes.

I'll still be concerned when they face new challenges.

But, I'll do those things with my own personal witty flair, and I'll OWN it!

Because even though my identity is always and only in Jesus, God has surely used these lovely little ladies to change me.  

And that's a really good thing.

But, I'm still never going to wear Mom Jeans.

A Great Day to be Alive

The day that I went to see Mom's Night Out with some mommy friends was an amazing day!

As I was walking from the coffee shop to meet my family at the restaurant, I literally thought to myself, "This is a great day to be alive!"

I mean, I really thought those words in my head.

I may be the cheesiest person alive.

But, I walked past trees like this, so I feel like that was the only reasonable response :)

And I met up with these cuties for supper, so again, a very reasonable response.

Gracie, also a cutie, was there, too, but her picture was lit all weird.

Then, all of us walked around downtown for a bit and the girls were so excited to see the beautiful trees!  If they were as cheesy as their mama, they would have said it was a great day to be alive, too!

The girls were so excited to be up close to the clock tower!

And I was super excited to take a close up picture of them in the clock tower.

I just love the randomness of that!  I feel like they should be on the cover of some indie rock band album or something.

We ended up by a beautiful, old church and the girls wanted their pictures taken on the steps.

Leah and Maggie posed together...

and they each posed separately...each somewhat awkwardly.  It can be hard to smile on demand sometimes...even if your mom isn't the one instigating your smiling on demand :)

Leah...

Hey...what's goin' on over there?

Maggie...

The bottom of my shoes are awesome and showing my teeth is overrated.

Gracie...

Uhhh...I really just wish I was pretending to be in The Sound of Music or Frozen right now.

So, as you can see, it really was a great day to be alive!

And, even if the weather had been lousy or if the girls had been naughty or I wouldn't have had time with friends or if we hadn't eaten at my favorite restaurant, it still would have been a great day to be alive.

Because, really, isn't that truly the case every day?

Project 365: #19

Maggie just said that a certain episode of Jake and the Neverland Pirates was "off the hook!"

Hahahahaha!

That really has nothing to do with these pictures, but it was too cute to not write down :)


Day 129:

Maggie's magazine (High Five) had a "recipe" for sandwiches in animal shapes, so, for special, we made some for lunch.  She and Gracie inhaled their fish and duck shaped PB&Js!


Day 130:

We went for a lovely walk on Saturday and enjoyed the blooming trees.


Day 131:

I gave each of the girls a flower on Mother's Day, because they made me a mama <3


Day 132:

There's nothing better than rain boots and a big ol' puddle!


Day 133:

Maggie called me into the living room and said, "Look mom!  I'm being a good big sister!"


Day 134:

Maggie woke up allegedly not feeling well, but she was feeling vastly improved about an hour later :)


Day 135:

My reading reader who reads <3


Have a great weekend!  We are heading to a cupcake shop on Saturday morning!  Wheeee!

The World's Best Snickerdoodles

The humble, delicious, happy sounding snickerdoodle.

Did you know that the snickerdoodle is named "snickerdoodle" just because it sounds silly?

Gotta love Colonial America for that one!

I feel like much of the snickerdoodle's pizzazz is taken up with its name and not so much in its appearance.

I mean, it's not very fancy looking.  

So, I thought I'd jazz it up with some stars...

or a mustache, because mustaches are trendy.

Or what about a beard?  Beards are awesome.

Although maybe a little creepy on a stack of cookies.

I could give it an award...

or have it think about how its the best.

I could even make it retro and give it some glitter!

But, really, we should just call this recipe what it is...

Aaron is a snickerdoodle fan.  I didn't tell him that this recipe claimed to be the world's best, but he tried them and said, "These are the best snickerdoodles I've ever eaten!"

So, there you have it!  They really are the world's best snickerdoodles!

The World's Best Snickerdoodles

recipe from Thirty Handmade Days

Makes a little over 4 dozen cookies

For the cookies:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

For the topping:

1/2 cup sugar

4 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar.  Set aside. 

Cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together in a large bowl.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.  Slowly pour the set aside ingredients and mix until combined.

Refrigerate dough for 30-60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Combine the sugar and cinnamon together in a zip top bag.  Seal and shake to combine.

Roll dough into tablespoon sized balls.  Put a few at a time into the bag and shake to coat.

Place on a cookie sheet.  I literally always use either a silpat or parchment paper.  Always.

Lightly press down on the cookie to flatten it a tiny bit.

Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the edges are just set.  

DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT overbake.

I don't mean to be bossy, but I have ruined many a cookie by overbaking.  They continue to bake a bit when they are hanging out on the cookie sheet after you pull it out.

Mmmmmmmm...cold milk and chewy cookies!

Give them a try!  It really is hard to eat just one :)

10 on 10: May

10 pictures on the 10th day of the month...finding beauty in the ordinary bits of your day!

Leah did a vast majority of the work when we made muffins for breakfast!

Reading and eating yogurt while the girlies watched Care Bears.

Getting ready for the day (Saturdays are nice and lazy).

Getting new sheets.

Maggie chilling literally on the toilet while I did her sister's hair.

Reading to Gracie.

At a movie with friends!

Yeah, we were watching Mom's Night Out (perpetuating the mommy stereotype, yo!)

Downtown for some coffee

and supper at my favorite place with Aaron and the girls!

It was a seriously beautiful and wonderful day!

Previous Posts:
Project 365:  #18
Local Mom Frantic about Water Being Turned Off (Onion-esque post :))
May Menu
Do You Have a Case of the Mondays?

Project 365: #18

It's been a fun and full week around here!

Day 122:

What makes me happy?  Fake grass makes me happy (among other things :))!


Day 123:

We did a little "Tour de Park" on Saturday.  15-20 minutes at a park and then we dashed to another one!  Aaron was playing pretend baseball with the girls at this one :)


Day 124:

Leah and I have been working on a little of the timeless cat's cradle game.


Day 125:

We cinco-ed, we de mayo-ed!  Gracie is coming back for more chips.  The ketchup was for Maggie :)


Day 126:

Just checking out the paper!


Day 127:

Fro-yo with my girl <3


Day 128:

Aaron had his first softball game!  Gracie was busy running back and forth from the bleachers to the bubbler again and again and again!


Have a great weekend!  I'm heading to a movie with some friends on Saturday and then Aaron, the girls and I are heading to my favorite restaurant for supper!  It should be good!

Local Mom Frantic About Water Being Shut Off (I'm making fun of myself with a The Onion-esque post)

MIDWESTERN SMALL TOWN--Upon returning home from a full day away, Becky, an area mom of three young daughters, was greeted by the foreboding sight of yet another neon notification paper.

"Not again!" she exclaimed.  Becky's water was being shut off for the second day in a row due to road construction.

"She was pretty worked up," her husband, Aaron, reported.  "Becky's not a high maintenance lady.  I guess she just really values being able to flush the toilet."

In response to our inquiry, Becky explained, "It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't for the second day in a row.  I mean, on day 1, I managed to be gone for much of the day.  My oldest daughter was safely away at school where she could freely drink water, wash her hands, and flush the toilet.  The little ones each had a dentist appointment and then we drove a half hour away so we could have Panera for lunch.  I had some Kohl's cash to spend, so the retail therapy helped put my mind at ease.  After that, I took the girls to visit our friend, Steph.  The plan was for the girls to nap there, but you know how that goes."  She sighed.  "Gracie was bugging Maggie like it was her job.  And if it was her job, she would have gotten a promotion due to excellent job performance."

"I mentioned to Becky that you can manually add water to your toilet tank to force a flush," Steph informed reporters.  "She was visibly relieved.  I guess I thought that was something that everyone knew."

When asked why she gets so frantic about potentially not being able to flush the toilet, Becky responded, "Do you have 3 young daughters?  You should see how much toilet paper they use!  I mean, I gently remind them to use 4 to 6 squares, but sometimes I think they just give the roll a spin and watch it fly off.  I genuinely don't know if it would be possible to flush all of that at the end of the day."

In response to being asked what her plan was for day 2, Becky shook her head, "I suppose I'll fill the bathtub with water so I can flush the toilet in case of emergency.  I need water for supper, so I'll set some out just in case it's not back on in time."

"You know, if I wanted to live like the Little House on the Prairie days I would go camping," Becky added.  "I mean, at least Ma and Laura could get water from a well or stream.  What if I spontaneously need to take a shower in the middle of the day?  I have no alternative water source besides, you know, the faucet.  I can't wash our clothes in the little bit of water that's in our Keurig."

"I usually wash clothes in the evening," Aaron answered after much prodding  "It is kind of funny that she's so worried about something that she doesn't do all that often."