Tuesday, February 26, 2008

One addition to entry below...

Even though the property management thing has shown some ugliness - I think it's very important to note that it has also made me very interested in a person's WHOLE story. If they happen to not be paying rent, there's typically A LOT more to it than just being late with their rent. Bottom line - every tenant is a person first and foremost. That said - there are some crazy people out there with crazy stories - some stories more embellished than others. :) (see entry below)

You can't have a rational conversation...

with an irrational person. This is one of my dad's infamous lines we heard over and over again as kids, and still today as adults. Other than my duties as mom - I also do some property management. This is not an industry I ever thought I would be in - and it's also nothing like I thought it would be once I got into it. The above phrase has never rang more true to me as it does when I'm dealing with "tenant issues". Luckily we have a building manager, that truly is a saint, and deals with a lot of tenant issues head on - I just hear about them thru her. Our building manager has been lied to (a lot), yelled at, sworn at, hung up on, and lied to again. It seems so strange to me that even though we are providing a basic human necessity (a place to sleep) there's nothing easy or "basic" about it. I guess when you are providing a basic necessity you really deal with the vulnerable side of people. Unfortunately, so far, it's not very pretty. I've learned so much from doing this - the list would really be too long to type - but one of the most important things that it has reminded me to be aware is to make sure my children know that telling the truth is ALWAYS the best answer - especially when you are in a sticky situation. Telling the truth gets you so much more empathy than lying and then trying to wriggle out of that lie. I think this rings true in most situations - especially ones in dealing with your landlord :)!

Monday, February 25, 2008

I do love them - really


After quickly looking at my last couple posts I need to visually remind myself that I'm completely in love with my two little angels. Although I find it VERY therapuetic to type out the daily struggles - most of my moments are spent appreciating them and laughing at them :)


Oh the guilt

I've heard a lot of people talk about it - mom guilt. It's real, I deal with it, it's not fun. I'm not sure exactly why the minute you become a mother every decision you make, from miniscule to major, becomes a gigantic list of pros and cons. For instance - Bill and I are planning a trip to Arizona. We desperately need a break from our adorable children and definitley need some relaxing alone time. My parents are saints and have agreed to take care of our children - who at the moment, are not usually sleeping through the night (Bridget) and terribly cranky most of the day (Lucy). So agreeing to take care of them is not a small undertaking. I'm totally wrestling with how many nights to go - is 5 too many - does 4 make our trip too short - should we just go to Minneapolis instead - do we need to wait until Lucy is easier?!?!?!?! UGH!

Friday, February 22, 2008

Staying Sane...

is REALLY hard on occasion. My day has gone something like this - at midnight Bridget (the toddler) woke up coughing. As I tried to calmly coax her to go back to sleep in HER room instead of mine for 30 minutes I realized I was fighting a losing battle. She slept really close to me all night - again. Then at about 2 am Lucy (the baby) started screaming - she had pooped. If you think it's unsettling that I just nonchalantly used the word pooped - I don't blame you - it just happens to be a constant topic in my life right now. Once she went back to bed I tried to sleep while Bridget tossed and turned, throwing her leg over me and coughing in my face. Lucy was up at 5:45 am with no hopes of going back to bed. Bridget woke up noticeably cranky - I don't blame her, she didn't sleep very well. SO - being the intelligent woman I am I ventured to the grocery store at 8 am with both girls in tow. (FYI - that was sarcasm, this was NOT an intelligent move) When we got there, I put Lucy in the BabyBjorn - realizing she pooped on the way to the grocery store (I told you, constant topic) - I knew I would need to change her diaper when we got inside. Bridget picked out the gigantic car grocery cart - which was fine with me because it usually kept her inside the car - which is always a bonus. We all went to the bathroom to change Lucy's diaper, except once we were in the bathroom I realized I didn't have any diapers for Lucy - just a Pull-Up for Bridget. As creative as I try to be, I couldn't figure out how to make a Pull-Up work for my 7 month old. So - back to the grocery cart. Bridget decides she is not interested in riding in the cart, she will be pushing it. The fancy car grocery carts are almost IMPOSSIBLE for adults to push, so a toddler trying to push it by herself was quite frustrating - I mean, funny. :) Meanwhile, Lucy still has a poopy diaper. We slowly made our way to the diaper aisle, Bridget trying to push the cart while I pulled it from the front - trying to be as calm as the situation would allow me to be. After opening up the diaper box, getting one on Lucy while trying to keep Bridget in her clothes (we're in the middle of potty training) - we made it to the check out line. As I got everybody back in the car with my sanity mostly intact I though of my blog name - Trying To Be Domestic - the major reason we ventured to the grocery store this morning was to get eggs, to make a new cookie recipe my husband found yesterday. Chalk that up to DESPERATELY trying to be domestic :)!

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Mourning My Sleep


Today I mourn my beloved sleep. I love to sleep - I mean that in a BIG way. Every night before going to bed I use to snuggle in, sigh a big sigh and comment to husband about how much I really loved to sleep. I sleep no more...

My friends were envious that my child NEVER woke up in the middle of the night, was asleep by 7:00 or 7:30 at the latest and always took a two hour nap in the afternoon. Life has changed. Since the birth of our second daughter I have not slept a full night. She is 7 months old. Not only is my second child a terrible sleeper - she just started sleeping through the night (and I use that term very loosely) - my perfect sleeper, my first child, now gets up about every other night and waltzes into our bedroom to cuddle up. I don't think I would mind this too terribly, knowing that it's probably a phase, but I can't sleep a wink when she is next to me. She has to get so close to me that not only can I feel every breath she takes, I swear I can feel her heart pump. Sometimes I try and cherish the moment, knowing she won't always want to be that close to me - but sometimes I'm so tired I want to cry and would give anything to have the old sleep routine back.
Today - after another sleepless night - I'm feeling that sleep is overrated. I'm going to try and enjoy my day, enjoy my children and even try and work out - if I'm not too tired :)

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Welcome

This is it - I'm starting my own blog. After reading my friend Lindsay's blog for over a year the idea of my own started to sound interesting. And then Lindsay e-mailed - "you should start your own." I guess that's the little push I needed. Thanks Lindsay! Lindsay and I go way back - here is a fabulous picture of the two of us in junior high - what a pretty stage of life.


To explain my title... I am constantly searching for something to be REALLY good at. I should rephrase that - I want to be REALLY good at MAKING something specifically. So I dabble in all sorts of hobbies. To name a few - knitting, needlepoint, sewing, jewelry making, baking, cooking, etc. etc. I can do most of these things pretty well - but I haven't mastered anything quite yet. I'm confident I will in time. In the meantime I'm excited to post thoughts and experiences on this blog. More later...