Why I'll never be "Team Mom"

My latest frustration...sports. My boys are in t-ball and baseball right now. It's a parks & rec beginner league. It's supposed to be a fun, low stress situation. They're supposed to learn the sport, have fun, and get some exercise. Some parents make that simply impossible. So I've compiled a list of things I'd like to say to many of the parents I've encountered in the two years my boys have played flag football, baseball, soccer, and basketball.


1) Do not give yourself a stroke yelling at your son for missing a pass. It's flag football. He's learning.


2) These kids have spent the past hour running and sweating. Please, snack-mom-of-the-week, do not attempt to give them kool-aid and candy as snack. 


3) I'm sorry you didn't make the NBA, crazed dad. But making your 8 year old son cry at basketball PRACTICE for missing a basket is really unnecessary. 


4) No, I'm really not interested in spending $20 to have my son's last name put on his $10 t-shirt for flag football. 


5) The only reason I'm giving you $20 for a team banner is because I don't want my kid to be the only kid without his name on the damn thing. We're 4 games into our 9 game season. Is this necessary???


6) Cursing at the referee during your 6 year old's basketball game for "Not calling an f'ing foul" is quiet crude. I'm glad they kicked you out, dumb ass.


7) Yelling instructions at your child, while the coach is talking to your child is quite counterproductive. Can you let the coach do their job? Here's an idea...volunteer to coach next season if you think you can do better!


8) Your son and that other boy collided while playing football. Your son got hurt. You have no business yelling at our coach about how it's "his fault" and "what are you teaching these kids?". It was an accident. WE all saw it. The other kid apologized to your son. Calm the hell down.


9) Seriously, if you think you can do a better job coaching the kids, then VOLUNTEER TO DO IT YOURSELF. Please quit complaining and venting about how the coach doesn't know this and that. 


10) The coach emailed the change in practice at 10am. He also called and left you a voicemail. How is it HIS fault you never checked your email or voicemail during the day, which made your son an hour late??


This is why I can never be a Team Mom. I'd end up taking a flask of wine to every game. 

I Don't Own Yogapants

I'll admit it. Before I was a stay at home mom, I imagined the "life of leisure" I'd be living, not having to work outside the home. My fantasy included a morning cup of coffee, while reading a magazine on my patio, with my home and yard sparkling neat and clean. 

Yeah, right. 

The life of a stay at home mom is much different. Yes, we are very lucky to be able to stay home with our children. I have many friends who have to work outside the home, that ache daily leaving their little ones in daycare. My heart goes out to them. I also have friends that choose to work outside the home because they want to. 

And you know, I'll admit it. I used to judge. I never understood why anyone would want to leave their kids in the care of some stranger just to go make the almighty dollar. How could they leave their kids with strangers just to go make a buck? I didn't get it. 

But having friends on both sides opened my eyes. Every person has their own, personal situation, their own reasons for either staying home or working. Some moms simply work outside of the home to keep their sanity. Some do because they want something that is just theirs. Some do because they have to. Some do so they have that extra cash for things they want to do, such as having that cup of coffee on their sparkly patio. 

Regardless of the situation, both sides have a stigma that might never go away. Us stay at home moms sit in front of the TV all day, eating bon bons and watching Oprah. Those working moms get to hire housekeepers and eat lunch out every day. We don't do any actual work, or contribute to society. They are ignoring their children and letting someone else do their job. **Insert eyeroll here**

Why can't we, as a society, just respect each other? We can respect religious choices, political affiliations, so why not respect a mother's situation? We all work hard, whether we get a paycheck or not. Let's just quit debating who works harder and just do the best we can to get through life and raise our children to be loving, respectful, hard working adults. 

Want to know why I have 3 baskets of laundry to fold??

I recently had a discussion with my rarely caffeinated husband. He said that I seemed to get more done BEFORE I was a stay at home mom. After staring a hole through him for what seemed like an eternity, I gave him the following answer.

Before I was a stay at home mom, I only had two people to take care of. I only did dishes for two, laundry for two, cooking for two, shopping for two, and cleaning for two. There were no after school play dates. There was no hour of homework in the afternoon. There were no soiled sheets that needed to be washed and changed because someone had an accident. There were no toys to be picked up. There football/basketball/gymnastics practice to rush off to after dinner. There were no sports to shuttle kids to on the weekends. There were no Chuck E. Cheese birthday parties to suffer though. There were no swim lessons, no parent/teacher meetings, no classroom to volunteer in. 

There was just two of us. Sure, I got more done. But life is so much more complete now, that I wouldn't change anything. Except the Chuck E. Cheese parties. I hate those.

**(No husbands were harmed during the above real-life conversation.)**

Not Just a Supermom Anymore!

Yes, I haven't blogged here in 8 months. Life got in the way. But a lot has changed since my last blog.


For starters, my boys are both in school full time. This means I have 6.5 hours of daytime bliss...I mean, time to get stuff done! So, to help supplement our little family's income level, this Supermom went and got a J-O-B! I'm a modern day lunch lady. Meaning, I unload boxes of prepackaged food for the children of today to consume in their 20 minutes of lunchtime. It's not curing cancer, but it is a fun, little 3 hour job. The best part is I have the same schedule my kids do. So when they're out of school, I'm off work. And, I still have a hour in the morning to do stuff like this, and an hour and a half in the afternoon to run errands/take naps/sit at Starbucks and play Words With Friends/volunteer in my kids class! It's a win-win for all! 


However, going from a full time stay at home mom to even just working 3 hours a day is a huge adjustment! I have less time to do the necessary things that I guess I may have taken for granted before. Now instead of having a whole 6 hours to bust out laundry, I'm having to do a few loads here and there. And instead of being able to get all the Costco/Target/Safeway trips done in one day, I have to get what I can done in an hour, then rush to the school to get the boys. But, thanks to a supportive hubby, I'm managing well. 


So, this Supermom has another gold star to put on her cape. And while I'm at it, I suppose I can patch those holes in the knees of the boy's jeans...it never ends!