Monday, March 4, 2019

Kid Convos

9yo: Your shirt has 2 holes in it.
Me: Oh *looking down* I see that.
9yo: Your hair is falling out of the ponytail...and you smell a little bit like bacon.
Me: 😐
9yo: Are you sad today?
Me: Well, I wasn’t. But then this conversation started so....🤷🏾‍♀️
It’s too Monday for this shit.




Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Roman's 7th Birthday

Roman, it’s your birthday! And if I had my wish (since it’s also MY birthday) it would be for you to feel all of the good vibes today that you typically share with others. I truly believe on that birthday those few short years ago, you were meant to rebirth all of the best parts of me I’d forgotten about. 

You are absolutely the “good-est” boy I’ve ever known. The way you love and give and care for others is something I’m so proud of. This big wide world has a bad habit of breaking boys, squeezing out all of the sweetness and innocence our beautiful boys have to give. But I know you’re smart enough to understand that love and kindness ARE strength and nothing makes you a better human than being who you are absolutely supposed to be, no matter what. I love you so very much and what you give to this family could not be duplicated. I’m happy to share this day with you and all the days to come.
-0:58





Wednesday, February 13, 2019

DIY Valentine's Boxes

In this round of the battle that is Girl vs Pinterest...Girl won!
Gosh, this is just so unexpected. I guess I’d first like to thank the Academy, then my so-called friends for claiming their “jobs” were so important yesterday they couldn’t Marco Polo me throughout the day like real friends are supposed to (like your ability to pay the mortgage is more rewarding than hearing me re-tell old jokes for the 200th time - pshhht) It’s just amazing what you can do on a rainy morning when you find 2 empty Kleenex boxes and there’s nothing OnDemand.
Real talk though: I’m the craft-attempting mom. I know my strengths and wanting to create cutesy, homemade mementos with my own 2 hands is something I commit to. I sometimes get the “but everybody can’t do that!” response thrown at me when I share that. But to that I say, “Cool. Not everybody wants to spend 3 hours on Valentine’s Day boxes that’ll be torn apart before the end of the next day so your kid can get to the Skittles faster.” That’s life.
We’re all just working with what we have. You may have the patience of Job or the ability to whip together meals that leave your little ones chanting for more. And to that I say, “How in the hell did you pull that off?!” But AFTER I say that, I’ll calm down and remember that Im doing my own thing for now, whatever it is that makes me feel like a present, attentive parent and you all are on your own path for that. I may pick up tips on the way, but your journey isn’t mine. I have to work with the (limited 🤦🏾‍♀️) gifts I was given.
In the interest of fairness, I did attempt to make an adorable how-to picture tutorial to go along with this. But somewhere after re-constructing the Kleenex box and in the middle of sketching the Black Panther mask, I started saying sweary words that weren’t appropriate for social media, so....you get whatcha get. 
Happy almost Valentines Day, everyone, may the Pinterest odds be ever in your favor!



Monday, September 17, 2018

A FOURocious 4th Birthday Celebration



There’s no secret that my everyday life typically finds me just trying to keep my head above water. It’s something I’ve warmed to; that consistent overwhelming feeling. PTA meetings? I get there, but 15 minutes late. Play dates? Sure, if I can fumble around at awkward small talk for an hour! Homework? Yeah, me & the 3rd grader can trade evil eyes over basic arithmetic until bed time, sign me up! 

But somehow, when it comes to birthdays, my inner Awkward zooms right up to Adequate and I become the world’s most okay-est Pinterest mom! It’s truly a feat, this transition I make. And this past weekend was no different as we celebrated another Brown family birthday. My littlest slice of sunshine, picture of perkiness, and example of excitement turned from a tiresome toddler into a phenomenal preschooler (I figure if I say it often enough, it'll have to end up true).

I decided to honor the occasion with a prehistoric fete fit for our FOUR-ocious 4 year old. See what I did there? It’s clever, admit it.

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Conversations with Grandma: Sep 18

My mom is in town and walked in during dinner.
Me:...and you’ll eat it because I made it!
Granny: I know y’all aren’t out here making mommy fuss. Not after she worked hard to cook for you all, that’s not nice. *makes a plate* Look at this, this is good food. You babies better eat so you can be big & strong!
*sits down*
Ashton: Wait, grandma didn’t get any carrots!