Weekend Wrap Up and More...

I hope that all my lovely readers had a wonderful Easter...I know that here in Jersey the weather has been beyond fantastic and it just feels soooo good.  It's literally been perfection.  About 75-79 degrees, slight breeze and all sun! That is good livin right there my friends.  And the forecast predicts similar weather up and until Tuesday of next week! (well, with the exception of potential rain on Friday but I'm ok with that).

Friday was a G R E A T  day for me...I passed my State licensing exam and am officially a real estate agent in the great State of Jerzeeee now! woot woot. I'm so excited to embarq on this new adventure and see where it takes me! I don't plan to invest a ton of time into real estate right away but I am definitely eager to get my feet wet...so if you or anyone you know is planning on buying or selling a home in New Jersey any time soon...

Grandma decided to keep the booger throughout the rest of the night Friday which allotted even more celebratory time for moi - I headed over to my girl Nic's house for some wine antics and gossip and it was very fun! By the way, shout out to Nic, who doesn't even read the damn blog - because she is loook f-i-i-i-i-n-e! Good work on the exercise, eating right and keepin in shape you're doing a great job girl

Saturday we (booger, hubbs and I) headed to the Phila zoo again to enjoy the weather and show the booger a good time.  It was really nice, we all had a great time and stopped at this Ah-mazing buffet on the way home where I gorged like a gluttonous crazy person (ew).

I <3 that one of my boys - booger always does that to hubbs when he's on his shoulders - I don't think he quite understands why you can't walk with your eyes covered, especially when carrying a child.

Here's some more animal shots - that monkey was staring at me for a good 10 minutes lol

Then Sunday, of course, Easter was just as eventful for me - as a mama these sort of Holidays are much more entailing then for those sans kids - you make a HUGE deal about dying eggs, getting to bed for the bunny and then hiding eggs, toys and a basket all over the house all while snapping photos before you even get coffee...Here are some of my favs (after coffee, dressed all nice) and ooh thanks to Ms. E at Strawberry Swing and Other Things for the cutie Arden B. skirt it was perfect for the weather and the occasion:

My Dad came with us, he was so cute!

Me n Boogs and then boogs reachin for Eggs scattered throughout the house with Spidey basket in tow

Had a great weekend with friends and family - looking forward to this week's weather and hopefully staying on track with the gym...the countdown is on ladies only 55 days until Memorial Day aka the begin of swimsuit season

How was your weekend, your Easter? Enjoying the weather?

xoxo

Holy Tuesday!

Well the weekend sure flew by - I cannot get over how absolutely gorge the weather was.  We, my fam, tripped it out to the Philadelphia Zoo on Saturday followed by City sightseeing and sushi dinner so it was a good day for us.  It was a stunning 79 degrees here in Jersey/Philadelphia and Sunday was no disappointment either.  I believe the high temp throughout the day on Sunday was 77 degrees.  I absolutely love love love this sunshine and springy weather.  Although yesterday was a rainy mess the clouds are beginning to break today for what looks like another day of sunshine :)

You bet yo arse I was wearing flip flops and tanks all weekend.  Which brings me to tanning - it is officially time.  Although I'm not much of a fake baker I usually do it for about a month in April (so we're just in time).  I'm naturally very fair and unfortunately the ultra ultra fairness that winter brings is not nearly as cute as a base tan.  I'm not talking Jersey Shore color, my friends.

Speeee-aking of which....who caught the premier episode of the ULTRA ridiculous 'Jerseylicious' on the Style Network Sunday night? I find it incredibly hard to believe that any of this show is even remotely real and that there are actually people who act like this who have jobs, let alone careers.  Here it is in all its ugliness. 


I feel bad for these people, seriously.  They are being mocked beyond control and I honestly don't even think they realize that.  Oh well.

On a separate note, since I didn't post for yesterday's 'Manday' here is a snippet of who I would have otherwise featured...because he is freakishly hawt...Gilles Marini (Mr. Marini is currently starring in the ABC series Brothers and Sisters on at 10pm EST on Sunday) you may also remember Gilles as Samantha's LA sex craved neighbor on SATC the movie?? Ya know, the one with the tight buns who showered naked on his back porch - the one who Samantha watched nightly?

And if you love SATC as much as I do, then you already know that

S L A T E D   F O R    R E L E A S E   M A Y   2 8 ,   2 0 1 0

yay :)

That's all for now....xoxo

Questions - Answered!

Well, although I though no one would ask any questions, someone did.

Here they are answered for all your viewing pleasure:

1. How did having a child change your life? This is a question that I could write thousands of answers to.  But most directly, I will say that having a child gave me a HUGE sense of compassion that I never otherwise had.  I never understood real love and care until my son was born.  I never realized how truly whole you can feel.  After Justin was born I developed a sick sense of responsibility.  I was always pretty responsible, even when I was a teenager but after him, I grew ten fold.  I am naturally a bit of a selfish person but when it comes to him, that falls by the wayside, dramatically.  Because of motherhood, I pushed forward on a career and I now am in a great position that I love and have tons of opportunity.  Without him, I probably wouldn't have pushed as hard to 'move up in the world'....well, not so soon at least.  So in a nutshell having a child changed my life 10,000% for the better. And I have a gorgeous little boy to show off as well ;)

2. What do you like to do on the weekends? I like to shop, shop, shop and shop some more.  But, because I'm a mother, I typically spend my weekends going to birthday parties, chuck e. cheese, roller skating, bowling, festivals, movies, etc.  I usually go grocery shopping, go to Home Depot or Lowe's and if I'm lucky I'll get a trip to Home Goods. I actually like bringing Justin to do new things but the winter stinks because there's not as much fun stuff to do.  I'm lucky enough to have my mother close by so 80% of the time, she takes Justin for the night on Saturday's.  When she does, the hubbs and I will more than likely go out for sushi and cap the night at home with wine.  In the summer time, we have friends over a lot - we like to entertain.

3. What are your favorite places to eat? I would have said Melting Pot but now that I don't eat meat it will prove much more difficult to enjoy a full blown meal there.  That being said, if I had it my way I would eat sushi every single day of the week.  My favorite local sushi spot is now Masa Sushi but I always fancied Fujiyama (another local sushi place).  My favorite guilty pleasure place to eat is Cold Stone Creamery (I'm a huge ice cream junkie) and lastly, Jose Tejas - a local Tex-Mex place that I <3 big time.

Thanks for asking!!! As always, ask me anything - any time, anywhere! 

Inspiration

There are so many levels of inspiration out there...Personally, I am inspred every single day by someone or something, well every single moment really.  My family inspires me, my husband inspires me, my friends, my boss and even fellow bloggers.  Inspiration is technically defined as stimulation of the mind or emotions to a high level of feeling or activity and when you pick apart each word of the definition it is easier to realize how often you are inspired.  You don't have to accomplish life goals or create something life changing to put inspiration to use; think about it - what stimulates your mind to a high level of feeling? Or what stimulates your emotions enough to result in activity? Almost everything, right? Here are my biggest inspirations in life and what they directly inspire me to do or feel...

My Son, Justin.  

This little booger right here is the epicenter of my inspiration.  Just looking at him each and every morning inspires me to be a better woman all together.  He drives me to succeed in life and pursue each and every dream I've ever had.  He inspires me to have better morals and to be a role model.  I inspire to be not only a better mother, but a better person all together - there's nothing like making your own children proud of who you are and when he gets older I want him to think that way of me.  Basically every success that I've had over the last 4 years is due to him...and he doesn't even know it yet!

My Husband, Justin.

There's definitely something to be said for a man who chooses to put up with me (for life).  I am not an easy person and this man right here does the best job possible! He is the greatest husband and he would do anything in this world at a drop of a dime for me.  He has the kindest heart and he inspires me greatly to be a kinder, gentler person, his ways of dealing with issues so gracefully and not making a mountain out of a mole hill are truly inspirational, I hope that over time I can be as generous and loving as he is.  

My best friend Jess. 

She inspires me for reasons that I find hard to put to words.  There has always been a very special bond between her and I and we've always seemed to be so freakishly similar in every single way shape and form that its funny how she inspires me considering we're practically 2 of a kind.  She has a personality practically identical to mine although she carries this level of class that is a force to be reckoned with...the thing is, I don't think she even tries - at all.  Its just second nature to her.  She's very outgoing and does what only she wants.  I inspire to obtain not only her classiness but her abundance of confidence that she carries with ease.  Not to mention she's as fit as can be, so she is definitely inspirational on the fitness level. 

While I have sentimental inspirations I, of course, have superficial ones as well.  I am inspired by celebrities, designers and even store window displays.  Here is a snapshot of some of my superficial inspirations:

Inspirational by justinsmami featuring Christian Louboutin shoes

I am a big analyzer of everything, I try to see the best of each and every person and every event to derive what may work for me or again, inspire me to do or feel something. I'm always seeking inspiration although it does not seem hard to find.  It's what you make of it, really. 

Lastly, I'll share some of my favorite blogs that inspire me on many levels:

Coley's Closet Cravings    Veronika's Blushing    The Chloe Conspiracy   The Look for Less 

and most recently, I found Fit for Fashion which should definitely cause for inspiration

What or who inspires you? Your career, your life choices or even what color you paint your nails? I'd love to hear about 'em!

Sweet...it's Manday

A loooonnng overhaul for me today followers, I was out of work on Friday due to the snow...yes snow, can you believe it, I was shocked too! not. I'm so over the winter its not even funny.  I'm sick of black and grey and I have really cute white pumps I want to rock, immediately but due to the whole "White Rule" I can't and it makes me angry.  For now I am dreaming of coral, yellow and pink but hopefully it will soon be reality. 

All that aside, Thursday night I took an AWESOME kickboxing class at my gym.  I absolutely love the instructor (whose pilates class I take on Tuesday's) and the class kicked my assss big time! I was dripping sweat 10 minutes into the class and that's what I call a workout.  I skipped the gym on Friday because I shoveled snow for a good 2 hours and that's what I call the suckiest part of my day a good core workout!  So my exercise over the weekend was pretty nice.  Unfortunately I couldn't get my lazy butt out of bed for 6:45am Saturday yoga (again)...maybe next weekend? Eh hem, although I was in fact at the gym this morn at 6am.

The weekend was well, mediocre.  We were basically 'snowed in' on Friday but we ventured out later in the day to hang with my bestie's mama dukes (heyyyy Joan) which turned into a whole entire night of eating Kashi pizza and drinking 2 magnums of red wine...yes you read that right, two magnums.  It was a good time. 

Mi mama's cumpleanos was Saturday so we had her over for dinner yesterday for a lovely seafood extravaganza and capped out the night with some good ol' closing ceremony action followed by Desperate Housewives! The only shopping I did this weekend was for groceries and new tires, unfortunately.  So no exciting purchases to share.

After today's man parade, I'm going to come back later and discuss an inspired topic....Workplace Fashion Rules so stay tuned :) .... I know, terribly cheesy but I couldn't resist.  And now back to our regularly scheduled program featuring the scrumptious Ryan Reynolds and if possibly there's some god for saken reason you don't know him - he's a gorgeous actor married to Scarlett Johansson who's been in some great movies...Smokin' Aces, Waiting, The Proposal, Xmen: Origins and some stints on SNL (he used to be engaged to Alanis Morrisette):

KWEENO, KICKBOXING AND ANN TAYLOR

Quinoa (pronounced kwee-no) -- a fabulous nutritional grain, cereal like.  Nutritionally MUCH better than even brown rice.  It's protein content is unusually high (12-18%) and unlike rice it contains a very balanced set of essential amino acids for humans which again, makes it a complete protein source.  A great source of dietary fiber, gluten free and easy to digest.  To make quinoa, you have to first soak the grains in hot water for a good 5 minutes in order to remove the bitter outer coating called saponins after soaking you will drain all the water (using a mesh strainer if you have one as the grains are very small) you then cook to a rolling boil and once boiling, cover with a tight lid and let simmer for 15 minutes.  After same, take the pot off the heat (still covered) for 5 minutes, fluff with fork after and you're set. 

I had this with my dinner last night and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised at both the taste and the texture.  Now, when I boiled it I substituted the water for chicken broth and there are TONS of tasty recipes online.  Try it.

This is what the uncooked quinoa looks like...similar to pastina if you've ever had that. 

I found THIS great recipe that I'm going to have for lunch today.



On to other news, SURPRISE its snowing again today! Shocker.  I mean, when is it going to stop already? I have 3 ready to pop pregnant friends and I don't believe that a blizzard is very good 'I'm on my way to the hospital' weather.  So enough already.

I'm taking a kickboxing class tonight at 5pm (will probably get my own butt kicked) but will let you know how it goes.  I cannot say enough how much I really loved that pilates class on Tuesday...my abs are still burning! I know if I continue to take the class each week I'll definitely see an improvement.  I'm hoping they add a 2nd convenient class that I can take.  I've decided that Mon, Wed, Fri I'll do the 6am gym and Tuesdays and Thursdays I'll take a class at night.  Will keep you updated on my progress!

I know this post hasn't been tooo exciting but I just had to share my excitement for this new food as well as the fitness updates!  For my fashion and beauty segment today, I'm going to share my rant about Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft.  Let me start by saying this is one store I always looked at as an 'older' store - I always thought it was a store that women in their late 30's and early 40's shopped at to look somewhat cute and on trend.  I was a very sadly mistaken young girl when I thought this.  The oh-so-adorable Chloe at Chloe's Conspiracy has me HOOKED on Ann Taylor. 

However, my dears, I very quickly came to shocking revelation #1 - I cannot afford to shop at this store, not even on sale I mean, some stuff has ok prices, $39.99 isn't bad for a nice cardigan but $128 for a statement necklace or $88 for a shell? 
They just have the most adorable, feminine, gorgeous pieces of everything - they have very cute jewelry and their ruffly, flowery, girly colored tops are to die for.  Here is my "want list" of Ann Taylor items that if anyone really loved me lots would get for me!! btw my B-diddy is 12/31, my Anniversary is 7/25,  Christmas is ALWAYS 12/25 and Easter this year is 4/4...K thanks, xoxo

C l u s t e r f r u c k

There are days when I log on to blogger and think "hmmm what shall I discuss today" then there are other days (today for example) that I log on and can't figure what it is that I'm going to discuss because I have SO much on my mind.  I'm a bit compulsive in the fact that if I blog it, then schedule it for another day I might not want to ever post it because I want it to come out right here, right now as I'm thinking it.  So this may be a   v  e  r  y   l o n g   post. 

First, I was greeted this morning with a rude, incompetent annoying man aka the service guy at my car dealership.  He's stupid and impossible.  The entire dealership sucks big you know what and I will never ever do business with them again - not to mention that I will spread the word like a plague so that no one I know will either.  Rant over.

I am one angry mama

Putting that nonsense by the way side,  I cannot say how FRICKIN EXCITED I AM....my bestie best best in the whole world is coming home to visit on Tuesday from her new temporary home in North Carolina; we're taking a trip to AC from Friday to Sunday and I took off work Thursday/Friday to cheeeel with her.  I can't wait, I haven't seen her since Christmas and miss her dearly; mind you we practically have been joined at the hip since we were 13 years old...this is a pictured scenario of what our weekend shall be like

Last night I took a pilates class and I must say it was AH-mazing...I've done pilates at home for about 4 or 5 weeks now and I certainly can see a difference in the toning and shape of my physique and it takes very little time to do so.  The thing with pilates is that its a TON of effort in a small amount of time, but that's allll me. I have limited time but am willing to work during my few moments.  I will continue the class regularly, no doubt.  And recommend any of you who want to shape and tone to take a class or pick up a video
(my fav is this one right here) which you can actually purchase, with the bands, for like $8!!!

I am definitely going to start focusing some of my posts of fitness, health & nutrition.  I have been very passionate about both of those issues for quite some time now and would like to share what I have learned and discovered.  I'm not saying I don't go off the deep end on a raging bing of chocolate of ice cream every once in a while, but for the most part I am dedicated and focused.  And bikini season is RIGHT around the corner ladies, believe it or not Memorial Day weekend is only 3 short months from Sunday..so we all need to get our arses in gear

And there's nothing like getting you motivated than seeing your favorite swimsuits in the flesh, literally.  I am a fan of the cut out one pieces because while sometimes I do have the balls to wear a 2 piece in the glory of my post baby :::cringe::: body I do prefer the one piece more and am very glad they made a stellar comeback more recently.  I'm definitely getting these 2 suits for summer.  Although hubbs will more than likely get rid of me if I buy one more bathingsuit (I must have at least 30)

Ruffle One Piece - Victoria's Secret  ................................ Plunge Neck One Piece - American Apparel

Which do you prefer...one piece cut outs, tankini, bikini, retro? what strikes your fancy?

Now that I've gone off on 3 separate tangents...let me regress back to the HFN (my new ackronym for health, fitness & nutrition)...I am doing well on my new, no-meat diet.  I actually feel really really great and I encourage any of you to try it out and see if you like it too.  I, personally, was encouraged by my dear friend Kori (who also doubled as my wedding planner at the time) who is now a vegan.  She briefed me on the industry standards for meat production which grossed me out terribly and told me to read the book "Skinny Bitch" which I ordered from Amazon yesterday.  So we'll see how that book goes. 

Separately, I must say that I have a much better appreciation of what goes into my body now in my 'older years' than I did when I was in my teen years and very early 20's.  I used to scarf down anything I could get my grubby little hands on and refused to basically eat any fish (besides shellfish), never ate beans or legumes of any kind and the only veggies I ever ate were the ones you could smother in ranch dressing; otherwise it was a no-go for me.  Now, I cannot get enough of raw (and cooked) vegetables, fish of every kind, beans, raw nuts, wheats and grains and steer clear of most things that are processed. I try not to eat anything that comes individually wrapped because 9 times out of 10 its probably not good for you. I've found that food tastes so much better when its fresh - from fish to vegetables and everything in between.  I also think that vegetables are one of those food items that you can mix a hodge podge of any of 'em and they taste incredible.

I'm really going on and on now so I will stop.  Comments, anyone?

Holy Bejesus Whirlwind

10:31am and already a shit storm of stuff going on today! Well I didn't get up for the gym this morning folks...and not because I'm lazy but because it was rainy and snowy and since I don't have class tonight I decided I'm going to take a 6pm pilates class tonight instead :::Jaime you know you want to come with me::: I do mediocre pilates at home and while I'm certainly no expert I'm not afraid to try a new class but having a little moral support helps in case I look like a total arse who doesn't know how to do it, I'll have company :)

That being said, on to my shit storm (and let me preface by saying none of it is really earth stoppingly exciting but more like "holy cow that's a lot of shit for 1 hour") -- so first my boss tells me that our next project is going to be opening up a burger and mexican joint - okay, I'm in - I don't eat meat anymore but I like me a good roasted vegetable fajita so that works for me.  Then my doll of a friend, Dana told me she started a blog today - YAYYY!!! Here's her masterpiece Then my other friend Jaime (same girl who will be joining me for pilates tonight, rigth Jaim?) told me she got a fabulous new job that pays well and has lots of opportunity so that's great news for her (and me, because now I'll make her buy the drinks when we go out)...my other friend told me she just did very well on an interview last week and quite possibly has the job (way to go Nic)...and last but not least I had one hell of a good breakfast this morning! So I've had a great 9am-10:30am day thus far, woot woot.

Speaking of that same breakfast -- let me share because it was heavenly.  It was this:

with a small handful of these:

and about 2 tablespoons of this:

Not even joking - it was a party in my mouth, tasted like a heavenly dessert.  And for less than 150 calories and repeat with me now, ZERO GRAMS OF FAT!!!! and repeat this part too FIFTEEN GRAMS OF PROTEIN.
I   a m   s o   s m a r t ,   s - m - r - t

I am going to post later with some shopping, product reviews and other F&B lovin but just wanted to say hi real quick

Catchin up!

Yes followers, today is Manday...and men shall come (later)...but I couldn't post Fri-Sun because I was supa busy so I'm going to try and do a catch all post first.

Gym has been going great for me, I've managed to get my lazy arse out of bed each and every day between 5:30-5:45am and jog to the gym. I was planning on going to a 6:45am yoga class Saturday but my stupid BB alarm was set to weekdays only by mistake so I never woke up in time! Anywho, the whole shabazz has made me feel so much better and I can already see a difference (or maybe its wishful thinking).  On top of that, I have also decided to give up meat.  Its a choice I made not because I'm a huge PETA follower or anything of that nature but just because I think what is done to meat, between how it is processed and the massive amounts of un-natural substances that go into the animals is just wretched.  Now, I've never really been a huge red meat fan but always had my hands on chicken and turkey so giving those 2 up will definitely be a challenge.  Although I have decided to keep eating fish because I can't really figure out how I'd accumulate the appropriate amount of protein needed daily without it.  That being said, I'm about 6 days strong so far and I can honestly say I do feel a bit different...I don't feel bloated or over fed, ever - even if I eat a HUGE plate of veggies I still just feel satisfied at the end; whereas, when I was eating meat I felt like I could binge for days on plates of food.  So we'll see how it goes, I'm going to test the waters for about 30 days and if I see an improvement in anything - my physique, my health, etc. I will stick with it.  If I don't see any difference I will probably take chicken and turkey back and just kill off red meat for good.  I must say, though, we always buy organic chicken so that makes a huge difference.

Thursday night I had a fun shopping trip after work with my friend Jaime...she's one of those people you love to shop with because she never tries to be the 'voice of reason' she proudly cheers on your every purchase and willingly justifies, along with you, why you have to have the item you're looking at! Great shopping partner, check - Great person to help you keep on your budget, check  I picked up a couple very cute cardigans on Old Navy's clearance rack - ALL their winter stuff is on clearance for next to nothing, because they already have out all sandals, maxi dresses, capris, etc.  I couldn't really bring myself to buy Spring items yet because I have a hard time letting things just sit in my closet.  I also picked up a few more pairs of Vicky's new lacie's - which are the BEST underwear I've ever bought, hands down.  :::update...dog ate on pair on Sunday::: and a very cute Chanel-ish scarf from H&M along with a black vest (which I have to exchange because its just a smidgen too small)

Friday we headed out for a fundraiser spaghetti dinner for my son's school.  I ate a stupid amount of dessert.  Oh well.

Saturday night, the hubbs and I got all purdy and headed out to a benefit dinner for my boss' foundation that I manage for him.  It was a very rewarding night for many organizations in my local community and I am proud to say I put a huge effort towards the fundraising efforts throughout the year, so to be "rewarded" with a nice dinner and cocktail party is great! I met a lot of really great people from my area who devote their lives to helping others.  it really takes a special person to do what a lot of those people do every day - putting their own lives aside for the good of others...I respect people like that a great deal and certainly try to do my part.  I can't really afford to do a lot of monetary donating so I try to spend as much actual time as possible lending a hand.
...oh and I finally had a place where I could wear my Manolo's - there's never anything fancy enough or worthwhile to break them out but I did at the dinner - and pretty much got a compliment from every single person so that was a plus :)

And then there's Sunday.  Besides the fact that I was violently ill all morning (because like I mentioned in a previous post...I just can't hang like I used to) I put my big girl panties on and tried my best to suck it up (which I did) and shoved out for a mini-mini baby shower for my dear friend Dana who's little lovely is set to pop out pretty soon! Can't wait :) Love little babies...especially girls.  Her clothes are to die for, she's going to be one well dressed infant!

Last but certainly not least at all....Sunday was the grand opening of the Shop Rite in my town.  Woot woot, I know what you're thinking - who gives a flying beeeeeep.  Well my dears, I DO!!! My boss is a big developer in my area and he owns the land that this particular shop rite was being built on (landlord-tenant) and it has been my job for the last 3.5 years to aid with the municipal, county and state governmental approvals to allow this massive grocery store to be operational.  We hit many snags along the way - being sued by a local competitor several times which cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars and many months of stop work orders so to see the doors finally open today was just AWESOME!!! And believe you me, that place was a freaking zoo yesterday I mean, you'd think these people hadn't been to a grocery store for 30 years the way they were consistently piling in for hours upon hours! It really is a very joyous time for my professional life

So I had a very eventful weekend.  Did you catch Keeping up with the Kardashians last night? or this past Monday which was part 1 of 2 of the seson finale?? I freaking love them and the show just keeps getting better and better. On last nights show Kourtney gave birth to her adorable little boy, Mason. (he was actually born back in December) "watching" her birth was just amazing - she was so calm and collected it was just unbelievable - her doctor even let her PULL HER OWN BABY OUT!!! it was so crazy I've never seen/heard anyone do that before, must have been such a surreal experience for her!  Oh and um, God - yeah Hi, its me Kristen...when I get pregnant again - can you please ensure that I look like this...thanks babe

For now, that's all

What exactly makes a good parent?

Well I know this doesn't have much to do with fashion, beauty or product reviews but today, parenting has been reigning my mind.  I was flabbergasted yesterday by a comment made to me by a fellow mother (from my son's class) and made me think long and hard about my parenting skills and what it takes to be a good mother...or father.  Some of you know, that I have a gorgeous little 4 year old boy and while I don't talk much about him here (because I have a frantic paranoia about the internet and my child's involvement with any of it), he is beyond my number 1 priority, way beyond fashion or beauty :) I cannot hug and embrace that little germ bucket enough...when he wakes up in the morning I smother him with all the kisses my lips can tolerate.  He is genuinely the apple of my eye and I bask in every glorious moment of being his mother. 

HOWEVER, 

I must add.  I'm really not the greatest mom.  I don't like to play cars or cops n robbers or really any little childrens games at all.  I'm not the type to get down on the floor and mess around and do all kinds of wacky shit.  But I genuinely love and care for my boy and would give him anything he wanted in less than a heartbeat.  I'm all about places like Chuck E. Cheese, the Little Gym, carnivals, fairs, events, etc. you name it - my son does it.  We even get up at 8am on Saturday mornings to be at Lowe's for kiddie workshops.  But I still always feel like I could be a 'better mom' or that I'm just not quite doing a good enough job.  Its one of those things that hangs on my shoulders like a creepy co-worker.   

So yesterday I was at my son's school for an hour helping the kids with V-day crafts at their Pajama party (it was postponed from last week due to snow) when the mother next to me says:

"you are such a good mom, you really are"

Me: "me? really? thanks"

Her: "No, I'm serious. I've seen you before; the way you handle your son and how you treat him, you're just such a great mother, I mean that"

Like I said above, I was flabbergasted...floored really.  I just couldn't believe someone thought that about ME! The woman who feels defeated by a toddler boy on a daily basis.  The woman who thinks that she can conquer the world, as long as it doesn't involve parenting.  Basically, the woman who feels she is the LEAST cut out for parenthood.  That is me, in a nutshell...how I see it, on my end.  I've been craving another baby for quite some time now but honestly, it scares the bejesus out of me - how could I possibly handle another one? I'm not even good at what I do, with one...but this, my friends, has somehow and some way solidified my parental status.  Not that it even matters for one second what someone else thinks of me (well, a stranger at least) or that, what other people think of my parenting should dictate my future baby makin plans...but for some reason that comment right there just made me feel like the million dolla mama...it was such a great feeling to hear that from someone. 

So it made me think deeper and deeper about what makes a good mother or father...and its not so much that you LOVE to play fireman or that you're the best at Wii...its that you genuinely love and care for your kids and ENSURE that they have the best that you can provide...that's morally, emotionally, physically and financially speaking.  And I absolutely do that.  So guess what...that mom was right...I am a good mom (and might I add...my hubbs is the BEST Dad, hands down) Here's the munchkin and me:

Halloween 2009