All the Women I Am

Image by mastino0100 via Flickr

Once again I am inspired by a country song it’s very rare if I am not inspired or touched by song especially when it comes to country.  I was listening to the new Reba CD titled “All the Women I Am” there is a track on there by the same name that got me to thinking about all the women that I have inside of me. 

I swear it is getting crowded inside my head with all the different personalities that can pop out at any time.  I decided to make a list of some of the more colorful characters that I rear their heads from time to time in my life or even throughout my day.

We as women all have different personalities for different situations so maybe you will find one that you can relate to or you can just laugh at how crazy I am either way it is all good to me.

I am debating on starting with the bad ones first and then easing you all out with the good ones but you all may need to be eased into the bad ones.  I guess I will start with the one that is around the majority of the time and just work my way down the list.

No Kids in my Bed

Little man fast asleep

I know so many parents that struggle with having their kids in their bed but I can tell you all that this is not a problem that I face because I never allowed it to occur in the first place.  I love cuddling up on the couch with Daylan every now and then but when it comes to going to sleep I in no way want my son in my bed.

I often wonder how parents who do have their kids sleep in their bed do it.  I mean for me going to my room and getting in my bed is like my little place to get away from everything and revitalizing my self after a long day.  I couldn't imagine having a long day at work or with the kids and then going to my bed room and having to share my bed with my child.

Daylan probably stayed in my room from birth to 4 months but he still did not sleep in my bed he slept in a bassinet and then after that I moved him to his own room in a crib.  Once he began to walk I was so scared that he was going to climb out of the crib and hit the floor that I bought him a toddler bed and he has been in it ever since. Now going from crib to bed was a very difficult transition only because he had been use to being confined behind the bars of the crib to havuing this new freedom to get up and move around.

Momma Got Her Groove Back

Cover of How Stella Got Her Groove BackWe all know that I am a single mom and we know how that can be but nobody ever said that single moms shouldn't get out there and have a life.  I must say that momma may have lost her groove there for a minute but momma sure is working at getting it back.

I have to admit that I love life as a single woman.  I like the fact that I don't have to answer to anyone and there is no one to tell when I am coming back or how long I am going to be gone.  Since I have been getting myself back on track and taking back my future, my health and my body I realized that I don't have to settle for just anything but that I am in control of my own destiny and what I want out of life and what I want out of a partner.

But I am sure you all aren't reading this to find out about my health, body and future I am talking about getting back into the swing of things about getting back out there on the market.  Some days I feel like Stella from How Stella Got Her Groove back minus being in my 40's and finding a young man in Jamaica but I feel like her in the sense of being in a rut and then finding my way out of it.

Today was a Good Day

I feel like I should scream it from the roof tops that "Today was a Good Day".  I know that today is normally wordless wednesday but occassionally I have days where literally everything in my life aligns and I have a truly all around good day and today is that day,

To start I think it might be because I actually went to bed at a decent hour last night.  Normally I am up til 2 or 3am but last night I actually went to bed at around 10.  I had planned to go to bed at 9 but 16 and pregnant was doing a where are they now show and it sucked me in which isn't normal for me to watch because I kinda detest that show but it pulled me in and I was pretty much hooked for about an hour.

This was the highlight I woke up this morning at my normal 5:30 and Daylan was more then happy to get up as well.  You have no clue how difficult it is to get that little man up in the morning. Normally it will take forever just to get out the door but not this morning.  This morning he got up and told me "Mommy I need to go to work,  I have work to do in the classroom".  I told him "Well then we better hurry I wouldn't want to make you late for work".  I packed him up in the car got him to  "work" and he even blew me a kiss through the viewing glass.

Then I scurried off to the gym and let me tell you it has truly been paying off because I caught a glimpse of myself in the full length mirror and I must say I looked pretty damn good if I do say so myself.  So I can chalk the gym up to a A++.

And the on top of that I am just plain happy.  The new year has started off great and the new site is doing wonderful so if you haven't been there or haven't been there lately go and check it out Mom Blogger Basics.

I hope that everyone is doing well and the new year is showing promise.

I Would Suck as a Stay at Home Mom

Don't get me wrong I love being a mother and I love being a mother to my son but there is no way that I could spend each and every minute of my day with him.  I am pretty sure that if I had to I would develop some type of mental disorder that would require tons of therapy and antidepressants.  It's not that I don't enjoy spending time with my child but the fact of the matter is I love working outside my home, I love the fact that I get to interact with other adults on a daily basis and not just to talk about what Daylan is doing.  I love the fact that i have a life outside of being a mom and I wouldn't want to change that for anything in the world.

Yes I would love to be home more with him but not to the extent of staying home with him each and everyday.  I am pretty sure if by some freak of nature I had to stay home with him our days would look something like this:

Taking the Lemons and Making Lemonade

Image via WikipediaSo after I posted Whats Love Got to Do With It? I got a phone call from my mom, a comment from my ex on the blog post and an email from him. Here is the thing although these few people opposed what I wrote here I am making lemonade.

The truth of the matter is I am the owner of this page and I created this space for myself to share my life and experience with others. But I don’t share those experiences in vain, I am not writing just because I don’t have anything else better to do. I write because I have something to say and I feel that I have to get it out and maybe touch or connect with someone else that can relate.

I think about it like this. If a woman is beat for years by her husband and she finally escapes from his grasp and is now stronger and is ready to speak out against spousal abuse so that other women can find their strength to leave would you stop her. No! You probably wouldn’t stop her because her story will inspire and touch someone maybe everyone can’t relate to her but someone will be moved by her story.

All I ask is that you look at my post from my perspective and then think about who I am writing to. I write post about my life and my experience to different people, not really people I know but to people that can maybe relate and feel like someone else understands what they are going through.

There is this saying if you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen. Well honey I am here to tell you I love heat and my kitchen is on fire. So as my life continues so will my blog and my post about my life and my experiences.

I will say this I could be doing a million other things that are very unproductive but here I am working through the pain that was 2010 and finding the strength to turn pain into prosperity. There are many others out there in the world that have trials and tribulations and turn to drugs and alcohol me I just turn to the keys on my keyboard and write it out.

Basically my life is what gives life to my blog the content of my life is the content you will find on these pages. So that being said I am ready to start my New Year free of other people misconceptions and interpretations. Everyone is entitled to their opinions but so am I which is what my space here on The Mommy Chronicles is for.

Whats Love Got to Do With It?

Image by Vanessa Pike-Russell via Flickr

Disclaimer: Don’t be too sensitive and keep an open mind when reading this post maybe you will disagree but hey it’s your opinion and that is okay by me.  Leave a comment of disapproval if you like as well I don’t mind.  

Disclaimer for my Mother:  This post is totally not a post about me getting with an old man...hahaha I promise but if I do find me an cavalier older man you will be the first to know...such an inside thing between me and my mom.  Okay mom just breath don't worry I haven't turned into Anna Nicole Smith just yet. 

So let’s start this year off with a bang.  This post has been festering inside me for a little while now and I have just been trying to find the right words so that it actually makes sense to the rest of the world like it makes sense to me.

I guess I will start from the beginning because that’s the best place to begin…(RIGHT?!?!?).   Well actually I will give you the cliff notes version.  I reconnected with an old co worker on Facebook, talked to him for about a month, invited him on a trip to Vegas, then a month later married him, oh wait let me back up just a notch. Invited him on a trip to Vegas, talked about getting married about a day or two after leaving Vegas, did the whole talking to the family thing, two days before the day I was going to be married found out he knocked up an old girlfriend during our whirlwind love affair, married him anyway (don’t ask), packed up my two year old moved to California, bones kept falling out of the closet (not mine) and end up divorced on our 1 year anniversary.  That pretty much sums up my the latter part of 2009 up to 2010 so now I can get into the meat and potatoes of this post on Love or really the reason I’m not looking for it.

Batteries Not Included

Image via Wikipedia
I guess we all survived Christmas since you all are here reading this now. Some of you may still be a little frazzled after the holidays, I know for me the worst part about Christmas or any holiday where my child gets a gift is that fact that he gets gifts that require batteries. I loath anything that requires batteries but not because it doesn't promote imagination but because I just hate having to buy batteries and I hate having to listen to him whine when the batteries die. I told you guys that he has OCD (if you missed that post check it out here) so its like the kid is stuck on repeat if the batteries go out in one toy. All I hear every five seconds is "Mommy we need batteries", "Mommy Mommy where are the batteries", "Batteries I need Batteries". I just want to make it stop, its even worse than the toys themselves with all the loud sirens, whistles, beeping and singing.

Creating Our Own Traditions

I was talking to my friend around Thanksgiving time and I was asking him what I should cook for Thanksgiving because it would be the first ever that I had to cook and he told me that I didn't have to cook what others thought were traditional because I was free to create my own traditions.

I  took that advice to heart and I had a little bit of everything on Thanksgiving Day.  Since then I have thought over and over what I would do for Christmas since I was going to be with my family it was just going to be me and Daylan this Christmas.  So I thought and thought about it and decided that me and Daylan would create our own Christmas traditions as well.

I have decided that we would open presents every hour starting at 8pm on Christmas Eve up until bedtime.  If we get through them all that is fine and if not then the ones that are left will be saved for Christmas Day.  I decided to to this after the fiasco of present opening on Daylan's birthday after about the third present he was done and decided that he didn't want to open anymore.  I think that he was severly overwhelmed and I knew that on Christmas it would be a repeate if I didn't take matters into my own hand.

I am writing this in the midst of our every hour gift opening extravaganza.  The best part of being a parent and having your own child is creating your own traditions and leaving your children with the memories of those traditions. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

Girls You Can’t Do What the Guys Do and Still be a Lady

Don't lose your self-respect
Tryin' to gain revenge
'Cause no matter how you do it
You lose out in the end
Betty Wright

I am often inspired to write after listening to songs that I love. This song by Betty Wright gets me every time and pulls me back in and reminds me that no matter how hurt I am by something a man does to me I can’t do the same thing and still consider myself a lady.

Men can do some of the most horrible things to the women that love them. They can lie to you, cheat on you and use and abuse you but if you stoop to their level what do you really gain. Like the quote from the song above says don’t lose your self-respect tryin to gain revenge.

Strep Throat, Ear Infections and College Finals OH MY!

(that's my pouty face)

I have become pretty inconsistent in posting and reply to comments lately but here is what is going on in the world of Danielle.

About two days ago I woke up from a nap and I felt like I couldn't move, I was unable to swallow and was in excruciating pain. I wasn't really sure what was wrong but it hit me all of a sudden so I started to think it had to be strep. I downed some cough medicine just to make it through the night but that wasn't helpful because my three year old decided he needed to go crazy while mommy was sick. He successfully got everything out of the cabinets I had pretzel trails all over the place. He went on a slimfast binge and then came over and decided that I needed to be jumped on.

After hours of this and zoning in and out I finally said enough was enough I mustered up all the energy that I had to get up and take myself upstairs to sleep. I let Daylan know he needed to go to bed and tuck himself in. I figured he would listen since he doesn't like to be alone down stairs in the dark. I climbed in my bed and proceeded to have the longest most painful night in history. Tossing and turning then turning and tossing I couldn't sleep because of the pain. I ended up having to call the ex to come and get Daylan the next morning (yesterday) and made arrangements for him to stay with him until Saturday.

I finally get enough energy to get out of bed and go to the doctor where I am given about a million test for all kinds of things and finally they narrow it down to Strep and an ear infection. And to make matters worse I have finals due today Friday the 17th. Of course this is my life. I think I am going to take a nap and then get up and take the finals. I have been up studying since early this morning now I am tired again.

After these finals are done I will be on break from school for a month which will allow me to focus just on my Daylan and the blog. So just bear with me everyone I will be back full force in a few days.

SEX Why is it Taboo for Mom Bloggers

So I am sitting here and I am reflecting over the past few months and some interviews that I have done with other mom bloggers and a constant thing that I keep hearing is that sex is one of those topics that you just can't talk about because pr reps don't like it. I find it funny because obviously you had to engage in some type of sexual activity in order to become a mom in the first place (okay KY pr rep shoot me an email...lol) .

Now I am not saying that we should be on here talking about our sex lives and who, what, when and where but damn ladies we are women, we are human and we are moms and so we have had sex. It isn't like we are all the virgin Mary running around here. I think that we as moms shape many aspect of advertising up until now most ads are geared toward men. They have sexy young women in them but I don't know about you but I want to see a hunky man half naked on my tv screen every now and again.

Why is this not okay for moms? Ladies I need you to chime in and tell me your thoughts on this.

One Door Closes another One Opens

I realized that even with everything that has happened in this last year that I am still blessed and that the year has taken many turns but in the end I have come out of it pretty much on top. I am seriously in a good place in my life and can't be mad. Obviously God has a plan for me and I need to just let him do his job and lead me in the right direct.

I just wanted to write to you all because I am in the middle of finals week and after the 17th I am all yours. I will only be working every day so I will have tons of time for my writing.


But here are some things that I need from you all....

Thursday Guest Writers: I am looking for more guest writers so if you all want to stop by and write on a Thursday contact me at danielle@the-mommychronicles.com and give me a taste of what you want to write about.

Sunday's Blogging Basics: I didn't write this past Sunday because I wanted to take it into a different direction and didn't get a chance to put it out there. But this Sunday I want to answer your questions. So if you have any Blogging Questions please ask them and then on Sunday I will have a post addressing them briefly with more in depth answers coming in the following weeks. So don't be shy let me know what you all want to know about.

Okay everyone send me all your positive energy as I tackle the finals I have in three classes this semester Business Law, Organizational Leadership and Global Business getting one step closer to the dream.

Whats Happening?

Looking back I am not sure if I had a clear vision as to what I wanted to make out of my little space on the internet but after months of working and reworking with this blog I have started to figure out where I see it going and how I plan to get there.

Everyone has now had the pleasure of seeing the new layout . I changed it for many reasons because I needed to make navigation easier and make it more appealing to the eye of my readers. It was bit cluttered before (my fault) but its like you wanna do everything but then you realize that sometimes less is more so I have truly tried to clean it up so that I can make your experience here better. I would love to know what you all think of the new layout. I am in love with it and seriously couldn't be happier I think that things will be much easier to find and much easier to read.

I don't know if my regulars have noticed but I resolved to pop up issue. Apparently one of the ad companies that I used offered full page ads and I had forgotten to uncheck that box so they were popping up all over the place. Well I went in and I got that unchecked so now there will be no more full page ads. I was wondering why they were paying me so much more ( I guess I know now) but I would rather have my readers coming back than to have the money from the full page ads so don't worry they won't be back.

I am also excited to announce that I am spinning off a new blog dedicated strictly to blogging because of the great response that i have seen on Sunday's from all you blogging ladies out there. I will be working on it over the new month and will try to roll that out in early January for all of you. It will be just like my Sunday blog post except I will post more often and the post won't be as long since I will have a dedicated space for all the information instead of just on Sunday. I will still be giving extremely detailed information just easier to follow and apply to your specific situation. I am not super technical so it will be super easy to understand and follow just like it is here. I am really happy about this because I love blogging and I love teaching so if you put those together I am in heaven I love reaching out and teaching new bloggers little tips and tricks that I have learned along the way. There are new blogs started every single day and we can all use a little help from time to time.

I also decided to move the blogging basics to its on blog because The Mommy Chronicles is just that a place about motherhood not really blogging I want to try to refocus my vision of The Mommy Chronicles to be those stories about my adventures in motherhood, being a single mom, being in the Coast Guard, my life and a few product reviews and giveaways thrown in for good measure.

I have also started setting so pretty big goals for myself and my blog that really need your assistance and participation. I am trying to climb the ranks over at Top Mommy Blogs and just need your click to get me a vote so please just click this link (Rate My Blog @ Top Mommy Blogs) to help me out (they don't ask you anything the click counts as the vote and can be done daily). I appreciate the support.

The gears in my head are always turning and I am always churning out some new idea so expect to see more coming from me in the future.

I Just Had a Baby (Doesn't Work 3 yrs later)

I recently decided that it was time to get back on track and to get my body back into pre-baby shape. I had a great revelation a week or two ago after looking at some pictures of myself before and after I had my son and I didn't like what I saw and there was no way on God's green earth that I could keep using the excuse "I just had a baby" since I was walking around with a 3 year old. I hadn't gained all that much weight after getting pregnant but I had become seriously lazy ( I could blame this on a ton of thing but that would be avoidance from the fact that I was being lazy). I made up my mind that day that I was going to get my beautiful body back on track.

I look at people like Heidi Klum who had a baby and just few weeks after she is walking the Victoria Secret runway. Okay, your thinking well she had trainers and all that jazz. I thought the same thing and then I realized so do I. I am in the Coast Guard and it just so happens that the unit that I am at everyone is a certified personal trainer so why couldn't I have a Heidi Klum body I have a staff of 11+ trainers and nutritional experts a hop skip an jump away and mine are all free, take that Heidi Klum. So I went to work and I made it happen I asked one of the staffers to be my personal trainer and another to map out my dietary plan so pre-baby body here I come.

My goal is to get back into kick butt shape by the time I go home in February. I have an extremely intense workout that keeps me in the gym every single morning. I am so happy to be on the road to looking and feeling better.

Is anyone else on the road to getting in shape and shedding the extra weight?

Missing Teeth and a Ruptured Implants

I was having a convo with my mom the other day about people's worst fears. Apparently she was at work and the topic came up, now these weren't just normal everyday fears but the kind you wouldn't dare say out loud for the fear someone would think you were crazy. So after you read this you will probably say to yourself I see why Daylan is so nutty (if you missed that post just click here).

Busy as a Beaver and I need your HELP!!!

Hey Everybody,

I just wanted to let you all know that I am super swamped this week with Thanksgiving and all my week is cut super short. I have so much going on with school and work that I won't be able to really post and comment like I normally do.

My classes are coming to an end here in a couple of weeks and I am having the most difficult time in my Business Law class so I have to redirect my focus a bit but no worries I always pull through and will be back to normal next week.

I will still have a Wordless Wednesday post for you but I realized that I don't have a Guest Blogger for Thursday so if anyone is interested please let me know. I am looking for something with some humor my week and life are crazy right now and I don't want any bummer stories. So if you have a humorous post that you would like to write for Thursday just email me at danielle@the-mommychronicles.com . Please make sure that it has not been previously published somewhere else.

Thank you all and I pray that you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving

Pity Post: I Miss My Family

So I originally was going to write something clever and funny about my son having OCD (don’t worry its still coming) but since he has been sick and I have been stuck at home with him for the last week I have got to spend a lot of time just thinking about how much I miss my family and my friends back in Oklahoma. This post changed so many times because more and more things just keep coming into my head as I try to write this but here goes my pity post.

I came to California almost a year ago because I had this great idea that I should get married and since I am writing this about missing everyone chances are we all know how that ordeal turned out. So almost a year later I am sitting here isolated from everyone that I know and care about and it’s the holiday season and the only company that I have is my 3 year old who may I add is not the best source of company especially when he is sick, tired, hungry, being dramatic, or obsessive. Don’t get me wrong I love him to death but I need some adults in my life. Actually to think about it I just need a life period.

According to Google this site is X-Rated

Recently I was contacted by the computers over at Google, I say this because I believe that Google is controlled completely by computers. They contacted me to tell me that they were disabling my AdSense account because The Mommy Chronicles is an adult site. Okay people I want you all to take a look around and tell me how it is possible that this is an adult site. Last time I checked I have never even used the word sex on this site, okay well I just did but not before this.

Pregnant Barbie: You be the Judge

I was sitting around like I normally do thinking back of random things from childhood and my teen years and I the thought of pregnant Barbie popped into my head. Yes a pregnant Barbie. I thought if I remembered that others may remember it as well. To my surprise no one had even heard of it. At first I thought I was crazy but I thought the internet has it all so I did a search and I found it.

Mattel had the great idea to give Barbie a friend by the name of Midge who came fully equipped with a baby in her tummy. Your daughter could snap the tummy off and right there in the belly shell was a baby and then instantly Midge would be skinny as a stick again. I seriously wish that I could have snapped off my stomach and pulled Daylan out and threw the extra away and been back to a size 3 but I wasn’t so lucky.

Okay so by now your thinking I have to see this doll well here it is….