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Monday, December 27, 2010

Stepmom Update


So on this snow day, while taking a coffee break, I Googled "Inspiring Stepmom Stories". You don't even want to know what I came up with! The first five stories were miserable, negative ones talking about how miserable and negative they were as stepmoms!

Sometimes I like to read about another blended family who has made it work. Surely there must be more out there right?

Well stepmom/stepfamily resources are still lacking out there! I haven't really looked in a little while however, our family dynamic may be changing soon due to the breakup of the kids' mom and her long-time boyfriend, who they have lived with part- time for the last four years.

Our (my husband and my) goal is to make sure the kids feel the same stability and strength that they have for the last several years. This will just be another chapter in the book I am writing.

Until that book, we keep searching for more help, more wisdom and more courage to go on as a stepmom.

Some of the few positive resources you will find out there will come in the form of a blog like this.

Here is a cute one I wanted to share with you:

The Reason Behind the “Rock”

As a Step Mom, new or otherwise, the word "Rock" takes on a myriad of meanings.
You essentially at times....
ROCK the boat
ROCK their world
Need to BE the ROCK
Perform like a ROCK Star
Balance life while on the ROCKS...and it's joyful counterpart...
Have drinks On The ROCKS!
Step Mom Hood can be a blessing or a curse, it's really all about how you choose to react to the things that get flung your way.
Making the choice to Rock It Out on a regular basis is in essence making the choice for a greater sense of self, respect and at the end of the day, the thing that everyone strives for...HAPPINESS!!!
Rock On Awesome Step Mom, Rock ON !!

Dear Diana (At 2 years and 4 months)


















Dear Diana,

You are not a baby anymore! I get so sad because of that but other times I feel pure joy because you are a little person now and a very fun one at that!

You are starting to potty train. You will often tell us when you want to go potty. Most of the time you do pee pee but we have gotten a poop a couple of times too. You are not as good about it at school or at Mimi and Papa's but we are going to try a little harder over the next few months! I will say that the Potty Power video was the biggest inspiration to you. One of the mommies from dance told me about it and it seriously works wonders. Anytime you watch it, you go right for the potty after!

Your vocabulary is unbelievable! You are speaking in full sentences and we can even have full fledged conversations with you as well. People can't believe it! They stop us and always ask how old you are. We also have to be very careful because you are a mimic and when you bumped your knee in mass on Christmas Eve, you shouted out "Jesus Christ!" for the entire congregation to hear...good times!

On Christmas eve, as we were leaving Auntie Peggy's, you yelled, "Oh S--T!" Well I thought the entire family was going into cardiac arrest...I slithered out of there like nobody's business and realized...well Diana will be the best thing for my language! (too funny)

You have your pals at school, some of which have been with you from the get go! There is Luke (but you call him Nuky Nukster and not by accident. He calls you DiNana so you mess his name up as well- hysterical) Then there is Jo Jo, Nicholas, Naomi (Omi) and Sophia (Fia).





















You have been able to spend time with some of your other friends, too, because of various holiday celebrations. You got to spend some quality time with Alexis, Lucy, Amanda, Sara and Caiden as well as your cousins Adam, Tyler, Cameron and Sophia. You LOVE to play and can make friends with anyone! Some of your favorite toys right now are doll strollers (with babies in them that you can take care of), your new guitar (from Santa), your new computer (from Auntie Cass) and your drums (from Uncle Matt and Auntie Gina). You also LOVE LOVE LOVE to color...with crayons at home and markers at Mimi and Papa's house.

Your fears continue to be Chuck-e-Cheese but also a few new ones- Santa (oh yes!) and Mickey Mouse (because you had a bad dream about him one night). You also are weary of some men but you can warm up with some attention :)

Your biggest love right now is "dance class!" I can't even drive by the building without you screaming "My dance class! My dance class!" You beg to go every day and I have to tell you "next week we can go again!" You just love it!

A close second to dance class is chapstick/lipgloss or what you proclaim as "pink!" You are obsessed. Papa Bob started this obsession for you and it has carried over to every day! I am constantly buying 6 packs of Hello Kitty lip balm and you use it so much that one tube is usually gone within hours. Papa Bob is keeping up his stash for you and Mimi and Papa have started to get on the "pink train" as well! It is too cute! You also think that when you kiss Mama or Mimi or Ally, that you are getting some of their "pink" and you look just like them :)

You are such a girl...can you tell? In addition to the chapstick/lipgloss obsession, you love looking at painted nails and LOVE LOVE LOVE when Mama lets Ally paint your nails...you feel so sassy!

Your appetite is hot and cold- it is one of a typical toddler's from what I hear. The biggest shocker to us, though, is your love of broccoli! You can't get enough of it- that helps balance out your love of lollipops. You are pretty good though with getting your fiber and nutrients in via oatmeal, cereal, chicken, Motts fruit with fiber and Daddy's gc.

You are Daddy's little girl in that you love the Beatles just like he does....geesh I wonder how that happened?

Lastly, as our blog readers already know, we took you skating for the very first time this month! You are only two and Daddy has gotten you on skates- a dream come true for him! We got you fitted when we were out Christmas shopping and you were so into it- you loved the whole process. A few weeks later, we headed into Boston to Frog Pond and it was a magical day! You loved it and you even got mad that Daddy wanted to hold onto you. You wanted to skate all by yourself already- you are so determined!

You are the light of my life...the magic I can see every day. You don't even know how much you have helped me go on and have shown me hope, little girl. When Daddy lost his job and I didn't think we would be able to sustain our home, survive and have your sister and brother stay in local schools, you picked me right up and showed me that everything was going to be okay. When I was sitting on the bathroom floor, crying one day, and wondering what we were going to do, you found me and came up to me and said "don't cry Mama...luv u." So I stopped and thought...I will do this for this little girl...you make every fight worthwhile and you don't even know it.

That is why God put you on this earth- to show us the best things in life- to bring our family closer together- to show us what pure joy is.

I love you my baby bird.

Love, Mama

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Christmas Day 2010








































Highlights:

Diana coming out to rip open her presents

Preparing the feast including "the roast beast" i.e. roast crown of pork with cornbread and cranberry stuffing

Watching the kids enjoy the new Michael Jackson dance game on Wii (well the girls anyway, even though it was Zack's gift! Mimi even tried it- hysterical!)

Spending the day with Mimi and Papa and Grammy and Papa Bob and Uncle Matt

Unwinding to Titanic on Christmas night
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