Closet Makeover

Latest news from the Luckett clan centers around our patriarch... Dan will have surgery on his wrist to remove a cyst in mid- August.  And with this news means our handy daddy will be out of  commission from all honey-do projects for around 3 months :(

Before Dan goes under the knife, we've got one more project to tackle. Our closet. It's a great closet, by the way. Plenty big. Only one major problem... Our 12 year old bulldog decided to pee all over the carpet.  Harley - God bless him, is old and confused.  Despite going outside to pee ALL THE TIME, he thinks our bathroom, (and now apparently our closet) is fair game.  Not cool Harley... not cool.

Long story short, we pulled up the carpet this weekend and decided to do a little mini closet makeover. New floor, paint, and shelves. Nothing too fancy - but an improvement all the same.  In the process, we had to pull out all of our clothes so we could paint.  Pulling out those clothes and shoes was like looking into a window of my past.  Mainly because my new "wardrobe" - if you want to call it that, consists of the following:

1) yoga pants (long, short, mainly black)
2) boyfriend jean shorts (I have two pair that I alternate - one baggier than the other.  No man on the planet likes these - but they sure are comfy)
3) tank tops
4) sports bras
5) maxi skirt
6) t-shirts from Target and Old Navy

Talk about keeping it real.  If you've hung out with me lately - you know that I'm really not exaggerating. I truly only wear those six items.  Two years ago, I didn't repeat an outfit more than once every month - maybe two if I was creative.  But hey, priorities change. And now my priority is trying to keep my children nourished, safe and entertained. That agenda doesn't require any bit of fancy clothing.  In fact, stretchy pants work much better in this occupation.  So the question becomes, what to do with all of the "other" clothes?  The cute dresses, tops, blazers, skirts, trousers, etc? Do I hold onto them hoping that when I find my way back into some sort of work situation, they're still stylish, or do I donate them and declutter my life?  It's a tough call.  Something I think many of us have to deal with when we suddenly find ourselves in a completely different reality than only a few years before.  Getting rid of the clothes almost feels like closing a chapter of my life.  That may sound cliche to some, but it's true. Those clothes took me places. Business travel, client meetings, presentations... you name it, they were there. 

For me, I think I may just have to go with the hoarder side of my personality and hold onto most of them.  I think I'll give up the stuff that's completely toast, but keep a bit of my past for a while longer. And, as my mom would say, "If you would go to church more often, you would have a place to wear all those clothes!" And she's right.  I'd also like to go out on more date nights too :) 

Fingers crossed that the renovation will be finished by next month! Will have to post pics once we're finished.

Bilingual 3 year olds

The Whinese master in action

Did you know that 3 year old's are bilingual?  I personally had no idea until just recently.  It's this language that we all apparently master the moment we turn 3. Some of us hold onto it for years to come, while others do their parents a favor and stick to English by the time they are 5. It's called Whinese. The decibel at which Whinese can be heard seems to also attract small dogs and cats from the neighborhood while slowly making parents go insane.  Many two year olds start to pick up on Whinese, but on their 3rd birthday, the Whinese fairy comes down, sprinkles some special whining dust on their pillow and POOF! THEY ARE A WHINING MASTER!

Ok, hahaha... Soooo funny, right?  All I can say is that paybacks are H-E-L-L.  Yes, I was also a master at the art of Whinese, aka whining.  So much so that I have memories of my parents telling me, begging me, and threatening me to STOP WHINING!  (You know you were a big whiner when being told to stop whining is a childhood memory!)

I'm telling you, it's constant. Everything is something to whine about. Our typical conversation goes a little something like this:

(in Whinese)
Me: "Caroline it's time to take a nap"
Caroline (in Whinese): "Mawwwwwmeeeeeee I don't want to take a naaaaaaap. Waaaaaaaaa."
Me: "Caroline, are you whining?"
Caroline: "I not whiiiiiiining. Maaaaaaaaaa" (that's her imitation of a baby cry, awesome, I know.)
 Me:  "I can't hear you unless you stop whining"
Caroline: Muffled unintelligible dying cat sounds
 Me: "Are you sick? You sound like someone who doesn't feel good, maybe you should go to the doctor"
Caroline: "I NOT SICK" (more Muffled unintelligible dying cat sounds)

Speaking of being sick, I just so happened to get strep throat last week. I think I waited like two days too late to get antibiotics, so by the time I got to the doctor, it was already really bad.  Strep throat + a whining, bored 3 year old = disaster.  Thankfully my mom (aka ninny)  came to the rescue and let Caroline spend the night on Friday.  By the time she came home, Dan was there to play interference while I tried to take care of Abigail. Just another fun weekend at the Luckett's!  (Not really, but we did enjoy a wonderful pool party celebrating Dan's grandmother, "Nana".  She's still got "It" at 91 years of age. 

Here's hoping the rest of our week is better and we can somehow learn to speak Spanish or sign language. Forget this Whinese nonsense. It's makin' me crazy!!!!

Cheap Therapy

Fun while mama is away!

Over the past two years, I've been fortunate to develop  great friendships with other moms.  Having lived in the same 50 mile radius my entire life, making friends (outside of a work or school environment) was a completely new concept for me.  Two summers ago, my sister-in-law recommended that I find a good mom's group to get involved with and I'm so glad I took her advice!

Along came Stroller Strides. In a nutshell, it's a bootcamp style workout - with strollers. The kids stay put for the first hour and then can play once we finish. Basically a win/win situation for all.   I've always been a fan of group exercise and the opportunity to let Caroline socialize seemed like a perfect fit.  As it turns out, I've met some of my closest friends from this group of women. And as a bonus, I'm physically stronger today than I've ever been (think wearing a 19 pound baby for hours at a time is easy? ha!). And I've learned a lot about what really matters and what's insignificant when raising your children. 

Last year's group shot. Too prego to try. No group shot yesterday.

Another benefit to being a part of this fantastic group are the "mom's night out" events.  Time away from kiddos to decompress is sometimes the best therapy when you feel as though one more "whining" episode will send you over the edge.  Recently an event for paddleboard Yoga came up and I decided to go. The time was good (not too late for miss Abigail) and on a Sunday.  Only problem was I'm not a "Yogi" - never have been.  Many would think that signing up for a Yoga class... on water... on a paddle board... probably doesn't make the most sense.  But, I didn't see it that way at all. I just knew that the time would be well spent. On the water, mind clear, having fun. Yes, I would fall (and boy did I), but that wasn't the point.  It was about taking a moment away from the everyday and focusing on Me for a change.  Four hours later when I arrived back home, I felt better instantly. A little calmer, less rattled and more grateful. Just like that!

Not to mention, it's good for dads to have quality time with their kids.  And if that time is spent at Cabelas, where a little girl talks her daddy into a pink camo tent - then so be it.

Who knows, maybe this will be me next summer ;) 

Moral to the story is (and sorry Dan), I need to find time to myself more regularly. Time where I can go and let my mind clear.  And if I get to do it with like-minded women who also need the same brand of therapy, even better!!!

Highly recommend Float On Yoga! The instructor was really patient with all of my antics. If you know me, you know I like to crack jokes and be silly -even in a yoga class!
http://www.floatonyoga.com/home.html

And of course I recommend Fit4Mom!  They have classes for working mommies too!  These women are amazing :)
http://mckinney.fit4mom.com/

On my mind...

Watching the Today Show this morning, yet another story about the whole "having it all" debate was brought up. This time by Pepsico's CEO regarding her belief that she can't "have it all" and her daughter might say she wasn't the best mom. I appreciate her candor. I really, really do.  Because having been on both sides - as a new working mom, and now as a stay at home mom, I know both sides.  I know the guilt of sitting on Central Expressway in gridlock while my baby is ready to go to bed. I also know the anxiety of unanswered emails piling up at 9 PM at night - while my eyelids are drooping so low from a few hours of sleep the night before. 

Let me back up a little...

I sort of fell into advertising. I was 24, looking for something better than my current job and quite honestly, desperate for a change. The next 7 years were a blur.  A fun, exciting, stimulating, exhausting, anxiety-ridden, yet satisfying blur.  I advanced up the ladder, helping move my family into new tax brackets.  I also made lifelong friendships with like-minded people who understood who I was and where I wanted to be. 

Then, suddenly (well, not so sudden actually), Caroline Lane Luckett came into our lives.  And of course she had to make an entrance.  In the form of a rare (1 in 20K) metabolic disorder that required round the clock feedings and protection from illness (aka daycares) during her first year.  THAT was tough.  Not expected.  Didn't fit into my "plan" of enrolling her in one of the nicest day cares money could buy.  Instead, we were fortunate enough to have family that came to the rescue. Taking care of my sweet one while I was trying to maintain solid ground in my career.  Over the course of the next nine months, I found myself in a CONSTANT struggle. Working with a team who either had another parent at home taking care of the children, or didn't have children at home waiting to be fed, bathed and put to bed by dear old mama. So, when meetings that started at 4:30 and went on for a few hours weren't a big deal before kids, they became a huge issue now.  Because don't forget, hubby has a career too.  I think they call it "co parenting", aka "who's on first?"

And if you're not in someone else's shoes, you just don't understand.  I certainly didn't understand before I had kids. When I was a bright eyed 20 something with career in the forefront, I didn't get it when I saw other women jet out the door at 5 PM.  I thought they were (gasp) slacking!  Before kids, I was always the one at the office late, discussing strategy, or willing to go to happy hour to celebrate someone coming, going, or getting a year older. I traveled like it was no big deal, gone week after week for client needs.  I remember one of my favorite bosses saying (jokingly of course), "It's in your contract that you can't get pregnant."  And all kidding aside, he knew. He knew that in our job, it was a true challenge to be a mom and meet the expectations set forth on the account team.   

So, with little fanfare, my time in advertising came to a close two years ago last month and I was thrust into a new world of the "stay at home mom".  While not a completely natural transition for me, I traded anxiety and stress with complete exhaustion and desire to find reasons to wear makeup.   I find that while your hands and feet have little time for extra curriculars, your mind is open to the wild west of possibility.  I'm constantly thinking about home improvements, parties, playdates, recipes, and organization.  Most things I never get to - but it doesn't stop my brain from going there.  I was so starved for intellect last fall, that I actually enjoyed helping Dan with his first semester of grad school!  

Fast forward two years and two kids later - here I am. Still at home. Now wondering, what's next for me?  I see my friends climbing the ladder, making it work - both in parenting and career.  And while I haven't found the answer yet, I do know one thing.  I'll never have it all. Said differently, as a mother, I'll never feel like I'm all things to everyone at the same time.  I will always have to make choices. This however, doesn't mean I can't be happy. Happiness is a choice we make EVERY day.  And I find solace in prayer. Prayers that God will lead me in the direction I need to be - just like he did 2 years ago.

To my friends that are making it all work - juggling home and career - I applaud you. I truly, sincerely do. Because it's probably the hardest job.  To my friends who stay at home, Bless you!  Patience is a virtue my friends.  May we be patient and tender with our sweet ones because time is precious... just like this picture :)