Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Bad Mommy...

Sometimes I just lose it. Not that I spank the kid or anything, but sometimes I snap & yell. I hate that about myself.

It's having a little boy that is so, so loud. He bangs & pounds & booms everything! I have told my 5 1/2 year old to shut up twice this afternoon. Once was inexcusable but the other time was pretty warranted. Even though I did yelled at him to shut up when I am on the phone for work right after I hung up, I still should never say that to him. Ever. I hate it when I yell it at my barking dog. It's such an ugly phrase.

And what am I teaching him when I react that way? Right now he's playing quietly in his room while I'm typing away. He assumes I'm still working so he's being quiet. And I recognize the days when my patience is short(er) so I need to type away for a few more minutes.

Sometimes I feel so sorry for my son that he has me as a Mom. Sometimes I'm horrible at it. But then I think what I've always told myself ~ he has no idea how bad of a Mom I am because I'm the only one he'll ever have. So I'll just do my best & try to have more patience & really, really try not to say shut up.

It's 4pm & I've worked enough today. I'll still answer the phone if it rings but I'm going to find something fun for us to do.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go smother a little boy with hugs & kisses & tell him I'm sorry. He's very forgiving. I wish I were more so of myself.

Have a great day ~ mine is going to get better.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Suspended Seat Belt Reality

As I just picked up my preschooler & realized I had forgotten his booster seat & that he had to just ride in a seat belt ~ it's not as bad as it sounds because he's the size of an 8 year old & weighs 85 lbs. ~ I started considering a few risky moves I've made with seat belts recently.

When we rode in Taxis in Mexico, we never wore our seat belts. Even when my hubby rode in the front seat & I asked him to please put it on, he still didn't.

We wore them when we rented a car. Never would have considered not wearing them then. So why was it ok when we were riding in taxis? They drive way crazier than we did.

And it's not just in Mexico, either. When I'm in a cab in New York City or San Francisco, I don't put them on. It's like a mind block. I don't know what it is.

Am I alone or do other people do the same thing? I can't remember ever seeing someone put on a seat belt in a Taxi. Why is that?

Except the one time my son was in a Taxi with us in San Francisco I did put the lap belt on him in the back seat. I still didn't put mine on so what the hell was I thinking, I don't know.

I'm just wondering aloud here & curious if there are others out there that do the same.

Have a great day!

Friday, May 14, 2010

It's Hard Out There for a Her

I have two thoughts to share:

I was just flipping the channels & on TLC there was the Hoarding show. A guy was a Hoarder & he was showing it to his girlfriend for the first time. She was appropriately shocked & although I didn't see the end of the show, I bet she stuck it out. Cuz as a man, you could be a head in a fishbowl & a woman will love & devote herself to you. Shit, women may even fight over you.

And secondly, women as mothers are not appreciated. If you're a single Mom, people assume it's somehow your fault. If you're a single father, you have Grandmas & Aunts to help you & the Mother is blamed for being horrible & abandoning her child. Men are given so much credit for what they're doing & a whole lot of help.

The double standard is very intriguing to me on both issues.

Just feeling a sexist sting this evening - not from my hubby of course but just from a few generalizations I've encountered the past few days.

Have a great night!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Tales of Travel

Mexico was fun. Had a fantastic time with my hubby the whole time & with our friends most of the time. Too many couples can make it difficult to travel together sometimes. But it was still a good time & I'm glad we did it.

I'm kind of starting to think I'm not a Mexico person. Because I don't care how much money you have or how nice your resort is: as a woman you are going to have to go to a filthy, stinking bathroom with either a urinal or a toilet with no seat at some point, or at many points, when you're downtown or away from your resort.

And Cabo San Lucas downtown is fun but as you're exploring the Marina it's kind of like a carnival with the barkers trying to sell you stuff.

Same way when you lay on the beach. Although there the vendors aren't aggressive so much as they are persistent. And as soon as one leaves you another comes up. There's never a chance to relax. My friend & I got really good at totally carrying on our conversation & not even really pausing to politely insert our "No Thank Yous" every 1-2 minutes.

Hey, I'm all for working hard though & the folks out there on the beach toting their goods on their backs & hiking in the sand all day totally have my respect. When it was time to buy jewelry & dresses on the last day that's where my friend bought instead of downtown which was great.

The hubby & I are really into tipping the servers whenever we can. The front bar cocktail waitress, who was hilarious & naughty ~ Loved Her! ~ told my hubby that she only made $5 a day before tips. It made it simple for us to leave her another $5 after she brought us many rounds of drinks. I hated seeing people not tip well at the all inclusive. But I understand the mindset that it is "all-inclusive" & they don't think about tips.

I think the hubby & I are solo travelers & we are not really the all inclusive resort type of people. It's a waste of our money because if we want to drink there, we'll pay for the drinks or stock them in our room but most of the time we want to be out exploring the towns & the local bars & restaurants instead of eating & drinking at the same place again & again.

I'm not knocking it at all because it is a good bargain if you're going to drink a lot at the hotel, which we did do, but we also spent a lot out on the town. For us, a hotel with a good breakfast included & a good beach bar is the best bet. We said no to the time share people & I told the hubby, oh no, now they're gonna spit in our food. It still tasted ok even if they did & I just tried not to think about the black mark by our name in the computer for the last 2 days of our trip.

I was a chubby chubby in my tankini top & board shorts & my two friends looked totally hot in their bikinis but...I had a great time & I still really feel pretty good about me. I'm funny that way. I always feel really confident, especially with a tan. But honestly, I would like to look good in a bikini.

I'm working on it but I'm not holding my breath. I just really want to be healthy & that's what I'm really working on. I think the excess red wine is my main downfall but I've even been cutting back on that. I just drink a bottle every other night instead of every night :)

There were two really funny things that happened that if I think too hard about I can make myself start crying from laughing so hard but I'm not sure if they'll translate to funny here: I'll try, though.

The first day we were laying on the beach at the very front of the rows of beach chairs. There were four of us. My friend & I were in the middle with her man on her left & my man on my right. We had left the two chairs next to the guys with shoes or towels on them to save them in case our other friends joined us. I guess the towel got pulled off the outside chair because this little tiny, ancient German woman walked up & grabbed the outside chair & started to drag it away. I said "Oh, I'm sorry, that chair's saved."

She put her hands on her hips & looked at me & stomped over to the chair down from my hubby & grabbed it & started to drag it down the beach. Then she stopped, turned around & yelled at all of us "If jou vant to save it ju have to put sumsing on eet!"

Now I don't take shit from anyone, ever, & for me not to say something back to her was very unlike me. But she was in her seventies at least & she was the meanest little lady I'd ever seen. My mouth fell open & my friend & I just sat there in stunned silence for like 30 seconds & then started laughing until we were crying. We kept saying that to each other all throughout the trip. I texted it to her this weekend. I will never forget that little lady.

Thank you, Fraulein, for a fantastic memory.

Then we were at Cabo Wabo, & I like to shop a little bit, but not a whole lot. I look around, make my selections, purchase & get the hell out. It's not a hobby for me. So the couple we were with were picking out shirts & stuff at the Cabo Wabo store & I had already bought my two shirts & hat & the hubby & I were waiting outside for 15 minutes when finally I went into the store & said quite loudly & sharply "Angalais!" It was supposed to mean "hurry up" which my friends understood it as from our Arriba, Arriba, Angalais, Angalais" cartoon knowledge.

I'm not sure what it means, or if it even means anything, but it was hilarious. The only other shoppers had been drinking with us at the bar & they died laughing, too. The ladies working there looked at me like I was insane but it was soooo funny.

Anyway, as Betty White said, looking at vacation photos used to be a punishment so perhaps my rambling about my vacation is punishing you. Thought I'd share.

Have a wonderful day!