The New Black

"Green is the new black"  That's the slogan on a new organic T-shirt that I just bought.  I have a weakness for cute yet expensive tees.  Living a greener life is a great idea and it seems to be a necessity for our kids' sakes, but it is an overwhelming prospect sometimes.  I don't have a profound latte that sums up living a greener life (although I do like green tea lattes!), I'm trying to figure it out one light bulb at a time.

Like most things in my life, I'm going green through baby steps.  Two very easy and free ways to start are by recycling and unplugging.  I'm going to guess that most of my readers already do those things and more.  An added perk for us is that we can take all of our newspaper, magazines, and cardboard to Mason's school and the school gets money for recycling.  Unplug, unplug, unplug and it will save energy and money.  Just turning things off doesn't have the same affect.

I could stay up nights worrying about there being enough energy to power espresso makers for future generations.  As I mentioned after the holidays, one of my resolutions is to use my own cup at Starbucks.  It's a baby step, but it's something.  I'm just glad to have a greener way to enjoy my daily latte.

Heroes, or not

I have just come to the realization that the chaos of the Holidays is just preparation for the next busy season in our household - birthday party and cold and flu season.  This is a season that seems to run from New Year's until spring break.  As a mother, you may get to experience both the parties and the illnesses first hand.  My latte about the season (or hot tea which is my drink of choice right now) is don't be a hero.  

A sick mother is not really much good to anyone so, while you still need to uphold many of your obligations, it's ok to say no to a few things.  Of course, I could not deprive Mary Jane of a princess birthday party today that came complete with Sleeping Beauty in attendance making balloon animals and painting faces.  However, I did take the liberty of canceling our plans to meet friends out last night because I did not feel up to trying to rally the troops into the car and a restaurant.  

We have another birthday party to attend tomorrow, this one at a jumpy place and I'll take all 3 kids.  I'm giving myself the morning to rest up, have a latte, and pick up a last minute gift for the birthday boy.  Maybe I'll get 2 lattes.

"Where are we?"

"Where are we?"  It seemed like a simple enough question coming from Mary Jane in the back seat, but it was past dinner time and we were sitting in traffic on our way home from Rob's office.  The latte for today is that there are no simple answers when you're dealing with questions from small children.

I tried telling Mary Jane that we were on our way home, in the car, North Decatur Rd, Atlanta - each answer led to more frustration.  She had a very specific answer in mind, one which I was not providing.  To be fair, I (like many women) have been guilty of playing these same mind-reading games with my husband.  I finally told Mary Jane that I was in an airplane, where was she?  Charlotte chimed in that she was also in an airplane.  The situation was then successfully diffused.  

I have always tried to answer all questions  from my kids with an answer besides "just because"  but sometimes finding the right answer seems almost impossible.  I am no longer surprised when I am unable to answer a seemingly simple question to the satisfaction of a 2 year old.  Sometimes I just take the easy way out, and I change the subject in order to avoid providing an answer.  Suggesting a trip to Starbucks usually does the trick.

A Boy and his Dog

Get a dog! I know, that's not a very realistic latte for some, and I know for a fact that most of my loyal readers already have at least one or two dogs at home. I have to say that despite all of the mess (and there has been alot of mess) and despite the middle of the night outings (and it has been really cold) Goldie has been a great addition to our family. To the girls, Goldie is like a 30 pound stuffed animal which they can hug and love as much as they want to. They talk to her in baby voices and say "What a cutie-girl" Goldie loves all of the attention and all of the dropped snacks.

Our last dog died before Mason turned 3. At the time, we told Mason that Sadie was in the clouds watching us. When Mason's great-grandmother died last winter, Mason asked if she was going to get to play with Sadie in the clouds. Mason didn't like dogs for a few years, but he is now over his fear. Goldie is his constant companion. Mason does not like to ever be alone, and now he's not. When he gets in bed at night, he reads books to her and builds her lego ships as she lays on his bed. He puts a blanket over her to make sure she is cozy. He feeds her every morning, and he holds the leash when we walk home from his school in the afternoon. Goldie now tries to defend Mason in rough-housing bouts with Daddy. It is a quiet friendship, and it is very sweet to watch.

Kids and parents can learn alot by having a dog in the house. It adds to the mess and chaos of things, but, lets face it, I have 3 kids under the age of 7, there was already alot of mess and chaos in my life. When I went to the Starbucks drive through one afternoon this week, they even gave me a dog treat for Goldie who was in the back of the 4 Runner. Who knew that dogs could get a treat while I get my latte?

One of Those Days...

I knew on Wednesday night that Thursday was probably going to be "one of those days." Charlotte went to bed with a very mysterious rash on her arm. Of course, I checked WebMD and decided that it looked alot like Chicken Pox. It turned out to be some sort of form of Exczema, but it took a full day of running around to doctors and begging to been seen at the Dermatologist office to reach that diagnosis. Any type of crowded waiting room with 3 kids is not really a fun place to be, but somehow we survived.

Charlotte had to miss a field trip, but she was excited to spend the morning with me while everyone else was in school. As a reward, and to help my sanity, we went out for coffee and she got to get a cup of whip cream. Lunch was a trip to the drive through to make up for not being able to go to gymnastics (at that point we had not ruled out contagious diseases). I managed to was all of the sheets and towels in the house because nothing makes you want to clean and disinfect the house more that children with possible communicable diseases. At 6:00 I realized that I had forgotten to go to the grocery store. Everyone loves pizza at least!

Here's the latte - some days are "those days" the type of day that you just have to endure. It's never part of the plan, and I didn't fully recover until I had a large Sangria with dinner on Friday and went to bed at 10:00 (that's very early for me). If you're having a bad day, know that you're not alone. The silver lining to my day was clean sheets, no cooking, and no chicken pox. And an extra latte!

Perspective

Bedtime - that dreaded word. It leads to a trying 45 minutes in most households with young children. At the end of the day, we're all a little overtired and I, for one, have usually used up my supply of patience. I am ready to get everyone in bed so that I can take a few minutes for myself to do things like clean the kitchen, shower, watch bad TV, and, of course, blog.

Last night, things were a little different around here. Mason (who is 6) took charge and said that he would get his sisters ready for bed. He got hands and faces clean, teeth brushed, and pajamas on. He then read books of their choosing. Rob and I were amazed as we looked on from the hall since we were not allowed in the room with them.

I stepped in to help with the final stages of the process as Mary Jane started to fall apart, and Mason got in his own bed to read a few chapters from his book to Goldie. As if all of that wasn't amazing enough, when I was tucking Mason in and thanking him for all of his help, he told me that getting his sisters ready for bed was his favorite part of the day. Why? Because he got to stay up a little later.

My latte today is more of a challenge, try to gain some perspective on everyday tasks or occurrences. They may be more fun than you realize if you think about how a first grader would view them.

Decisions

Motherhood is full of decisions. Some are big like what school to choose and when to potty train. Others, while not as major, are constant - what everyone needs to eat and wear, what is appropriate to watch on TV, which playground to go to after school. I find it exhausting! I spend the whole day making decisions that affect everyone around me, sometimes at the end of the day I literally can't decide what to feed myself. That's when Rob gets us takeout after the kids are asleep.

Of course, I make decisions that don't involve the kids as well. Recently, Rob and I have been making decisions about technology - should we keep our LAN line (no), buy me a laptop (yes), get DirecTV (yes), get a new TV (no)? These were not easy decisions for us. We (especially my husband) tend to over-analyze all of the options. Once again, decision-making has worn me out.

At least I've decided on a latte for the day - feel good about your decision. Whether it's a decision to splurge on new jeans, wear the same clothes every day, order pizza for dinner, or rearrange the furniture. And, of course, going out for another latte is always a good decision.

A New Latte

Don't be afraid to try something new. I'm trying to convince myself of that as I say it. It's very easy (at least for me) to get stuck in a rut of doing the same things. I wear some variation on the same clothes most days, talk to the same people, let my kids watch too many of the same shows, etc. Today I tried a new latte, a London Fog Tzao tea latte (non-fat) from Starbucks. I'm sipping on it right now, and it's pretty good.

Charlotte also started a new gymnastics class and Mason is thinking of taking karate. All new things. I realize that none of this is monumental, but I tend to take baby steps with most things. Change has never been easy for me which you might have guessed by the fact that I live 1/2 mile from the house in which I grew up. Our children are growing up in an uncertain world in which anything is possible. Who knew that Aaron Spelling was onto something when he put a rotary phone in Sabrina's car on Charlie's Angels in the 70's? Hopefully my kids will learn to embrace change. So go out and try a new latte, maybe you'll find it right here.

Make a Plan

For several years my plan was to get pregnant and then take care of my babies. For the first year that I had 3 kids, I was lucky if my plans involved taking a shower every couple of days. Now that the kids are 2 1/2, 4 1/2, and 6 1/2, I have finally emerged from my post-baby fog. Today I realized that it is time to make a plan.

There's no punch line here, I don't actually have a grand plan, yet, but my latte is to go out and make a plan beyond next weeks' play group or Gymboree class. Taking care of my kids is the most rewarding and frustrating thing I'm sure I will ever do, but soon I will have some time for other things as well. Sometime soon, probably over a latte or two, I need think about what is going to come next for me and my family. Do I want to write a book, go to law school, go back to corporate America, or volunteer all of my time? I'm not sure right now, but I'll keep you posted.

Back to School

The holidays are over. All of our decorations are back in the attic and my Christmas pictures are on my computer until sometime in the future when I get around to getting some prints to put in albums. As usual, I had bigger plans for the break than what I actually achieved, but I didn't really expect that we would get through all that I envisioned. Even tonight, I'm glad that I got the grocery shopping done, but I still have a few piles of stuff to go through.

My back to school latte is to relax. Be sure to pay the bills on time and to keep the refrigerator stocked, but don't worry if you didn't see everyone on your list over the holidays. It is a crazy time of year, and I'm starting to realize that it really is not a good time to make too many plans if you have small kids. Enjoy the season with your family, and tackle your to do list after everyone goes back to school. Take a deep breath and sit down to sip a latte first, the list isn't going anywhere.