Why Yes, I'd love to have/go to another party! -- Not so much

It's Memorial Day Weekend in about 10 hours. For a family whose calendars are jam packed with parties and events, I'm not sure why I volunteered to have a Memorial Day Party at our house. I'm 6.5 months pregnant. The weather is going to be cruddy- cloudy but no rain at least. I haven't even bought food yet. And there won't be much help around to get the house cleaned up before or after everyone leaves. So why did I do this to myself???

Truthfully? Because I'm supposed to. My future mother-in-law hosts a 4th of July party at her house every year. My mom hosts the Labor Day party at her house every year. We have a gorgeous place with enough space for our family and friends; it makes sense for us to take this holiday and make it the one we do every year. We hosted last year when we had only been in our new house about 2 weeks so I wanted to keep the new tradition going.

Now I have to do about 10,000 things today and pray I get them all done because there will be NO time tomorrow or before the party to do much. I have to plan the food, see who wants to bring what, buy everything else, and then start cleaning my house. Like the good clean. The "I'm about to have a boatload of company" type of cleaning.

Did I mention I have a 160lb Rottweiler and a toddler and a grown-toddler-man living with me? haha

So yeah, initially I didn't really want to host the party. I felt obligated to since I had done it last year and our moms host big parties for the other summer holidays and they deserve a break from this one. Just being honest.

Do I need to plan my daughter's 3rd birthday, which is being hosted at my house in 5 weeks? Yes.
Do I need to see what needs to be done for my son's upcoming baby shower, which is being hosted at my house in 7 weeks? Yes.
Do I need to get organized for when my son actually gets here in 11 weeks? Yes.
Do I need to get more planning on our wedding for next year done, fill out contracts, send deposits, cancel some things, etc? Yes.

But then it sinks in. All the reasons why this is truly what I'm supposed to do. My family is big on traditions. Both sides are. And sometimes it's not easy to have those overlap. But this holiday? By taking this holiday, my daughter will be able to remember her Mammaw & Pappaw had a big party in September for Labor Day and her Nonna & Poppa had a big party for the 4th of July and her Mommy & Daddy had a big party to kick off the summer.

I'll be able to start a tradition with my new family on a holiday that means a lot to me. See, this was the first holiday my fiance and I got to hang out. My sister had a few friends over about 4 years ago and the Fiance and I were able to talk. That weekend--that one day, that one party--set into motion events that would change my life forever. That was the weekend I attribute to the start of "us."

To everyone else, this is a holiday to remember the fallen. Those soldiers and service men and women who gave up their lives protecting our freedom. 5 Memorial Days ago, I would have said the same thing. But on that day, 4 years ago, I had another reason to cherish this holiday.

So maybe I have a lot of other parties this summer. Maybe I have a lot of those at my house on top of it. But this party? This one will be the start of the summer, a remembrance of what was, a start of "will be's," and a day to enjoy the people we love because we can. Because so many have given up the chance to see their loved ones ever again.

By writing this post, I had decided I was going to drop the "bag of burden" of planning another party and would just enjoy this time with my family. Days in a row with the man I love more than I truly ever imagined possible. Days seeing him play with our daughter in what will be our last summer as a family of three. And a party day with the people we love.

That's a pretty big dose of "shut up and be thankful." Because I do have a TON to be thankful for. And even decently pregnant (I'm only 6.5 months so I still have a ways to go!) with all the hormones that go with that, I have to remind myself that those things can't/shouldn't be overlooked. Ever. Some days are brutal, hard to get through without losing my mind. But I need to be thankful every day. Because I have been blessed. The plethora of blessings at my front door should be let in every morning and tucked in every night.

So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to get off my ass and get to planning a fun Memorial Day party. I'll ask for help from those who love me and want to help me.

I don't think I've miraculously become this enlightened being. I'm not naive enough to think this stress of all the To Do's won't get to me again. Maybe even before the day is over. Ehh. Probably will. But my goal is to remember this post and remember the "why's" of this party. And enjoy a great weekend.

I hope everyone reading this gets to do the same thing.

Happy Memorial Day!

 

So... What's for dinner?

I hate this question. Honestly, it's up there with "Hey Mom, guess what?" Because no matter what you say it is going to be wrong.

I'm sure many of you who read this blog (fingers crossed that there are "many of you") thought I had already dropped the ball on my resolution to be grateful.

Nope. It's just that my grateful moment happened later in the day yesterday and I was too worn out to get on here and type out my post. I had a full day today, so I'm just now getting around to putting this up.

Yesterday was spent mostly on the couch. Watching TV while folding all the laundry. Didn't feel too good --gotta love those quick weather changes-- and didn't get much to eat throughout the day. Popcorn and Iced Tea. Yeah buddy. I had a TO DO LIST of about 6 things I wanted to do and all involved leaving the house except the laundry, so the laundry is the only thing that actually GOT done.

Daddy walks in the door around 4:30pm-ish. The second he walks in, our dear, sweet, pacified toddler shed that skin and became crazy, energetic, high-speed, not-gonna-stop toddler. Switch Flipped. Sweet. Just what the doctor ordered!

Now I know my man. I know he gets up super early and works a physically demanding job. And I know that some times, most days, he isn't able to stop for a bite to eat. Let alone a HEALTHY lunch. So when he walks in the door, I do a mental prep for the most dreaded question. Never fails. And I just did not want to deal with the hassle of finding something to make out of the contents of my fridge/freezer/pantry. Actually, I knew exactly what was in those and nothing sounded appealing or easy.

Know what he did? He looked right over at our daughter and said "Hey kiddo: Wanna let me get a shower and you get dressed and we'll go to the park?"

Umm WHAT? Excuse me?? He hasn't asked how my day was. Hasn't asked what's for dinner. He just automatically offered to take the kid off my hands for a minimum 30-45 minutes for a walk to the park, play at the park, and walk back??? Thank you JESUS!!

Did the kid cooperate? Of course not. She told him he hurt her feelings because he told her to put shoes and socks on and then it just got later and later until it was going on 6:30pm and none of us had eaten anything. He suggested we all go to the grocery store and get some chicken to cook. Some thin ones I could just throw on our George Foreman. Works for me.

When we got to the store, I noticed a sale. Pre-made grilled chicken, 8 pieces. $5.99. Wait a minute: I don't have to cook?? Score!! Daddy offered to take the kid while I waited at the counter at the deli to pick up the chicken. The lady in front of me ordered the same thing and the deli-worker told her for $4 more she could get a 4-pack of Hawaiian rolls & 2 pounds of sides. Considering my daughter had informed me a mere 3 minutes prior that Hawaiian rolls were her new "absolute favorite thing ever" (her words), this could work for me. Dinner for 3 and barely $10 with tax? I'm in. I got 2lbs of potato wedges to go with our healthy grilled chicken, because that's what moms do, right? And those were totally for the toddler and not the pregnant lady. Promise.
**Fingers crossed**

Got home, got out the new plastic plates I scored from the dollar store a few days ago, and Voila!! Dinner is served! Told the toddler we were having dragon legs for dinner and she ate all the meat. That's a big deal since she's been an EXTREMELY picky eater lately. She loves french fries and such, so those were a huge hit. And those Hawaiian rolls she had to have? Well they were more like play/building blocks that she "painted" with ketchup. Eh, she ate and those rolls were basically free so I can't get too mad.

So that was my day. It was a last second save by Daddy, but him and the grocery store came in for the clutch. Way to go Daddo!

I'll just ignore those Braxton Hicks as I tried to sleep. And my daughter asking me if my "big ole belly, and big legs, and big butt" would go away once I have my "little bitty baby." Yes honey. They do go away. And if they don't, well then you and Daddy better just TELL me they went away!

So seriously? Why now?

Yesterday I did my first post with this blog. It was all about why I'm doing it and what motivated me to start.

Most of you are probably sitting there thinking: "Well yeah. That's all well and good, but what made you kick it into gear and actually write a post?" My kick start was simple: My daughter was driving me NUTS!! I needed to start the blog because I needed a reason to force myself to be grateful. Otherwise I was going to lock myself in the bathroom for a scream/sob fest. Boy was she just rotten yesterday!! I had to put her in timeout 4 times before her dad even got home. She fought me on every thing I said, every thing I asked her to do. She found a reason why that was "not the rules" or why her idea was better.

I hate the terrible two's BTW.

Another thing was I had on Windy City Live while I let the world of toddler-dom cave in around me and there was an author on there talking about her new book "I Want My Epidural Back: Adventures in Mediocre Parenting." (Karen Alpert) Her take on parenting is simple: Don't take it too seriously. You will never be "World's Greatest Mom." Your kids will hate you at some point. And you will NEED a glass (or two) of wine/vodka/preferred adult drink to get through some nights. And all this is fine, acceptable, and necessary to get through those rough --oh I don't know-- 18 years! Alpert's reading these lines on the TV as I mumble profanity at the mess building upon itself in my living room kind of like one of those fungi-creatures in old-time scary movies. Just feeding on itself and absorbing anything that dares cross its path. I knew I would have to get up in the next 15 minutes if the mess was to ever be manageable; just as I knew my toddler would recreate the disaster zone faster than most people can do simple math. (Unless your kid is learning Common Core. Then I pity you and this saying will make no sense any longer.)

The other half of you are wondering: "But real question--Have you actually started your gratitude project?" Truth? NOPE!! haha I did add two new books to my Nook that I hope will give me motivation to really and truly start on my project.

Until then I will be content with the TWO new blog posts I have managed to generate. And I will sip my iced tea while imagining it to be a super cold Pomegranate Margarita. I don't drink much when not pregnant --and obviously not at all while pregnant-- but those are a tasty concoction!

P.S. My computer isn't making this goal achievement very easy or stress-free. It managed to "zone out" no less than every 15 seconds of typing. So I will add another pat to the back for not throwing the damn thing across the office.