I'm Not That Kind of Mom

It dawned on me that many people being directed here from the blogoshpere might be wondering if this is a "Mommy Blog." Since humans like things in categories, I might bug you a little... and I'm okay with that. While I am a Mom...

I'm not *that* kind of mom.

I'm not the kind of mom that makes breakfast and packs lunches and whistles the whole time. I'm the mom that makes her kids get their own cereal, not only because I want them to learn to do things on their own, but because I'm a late riser and like to sit with my coffee on the patio in peace during my ME time before starting my day as "mom."

I'm not the kind of mom that cares if the Chicken Dinos will cause my children to lose 3 days at the end of their life. Chances are, they will live full and happy lives regardless. I do buy organic milk and eggs and read labels like crazy, but I need easy. Microwavable chicken in the shape of T Rexes make my life easy!

I'm not the kind of mom that will smile politely when your child is being naughty and say "Oh, how cute." I will call him out on his behavior, usually beginning my interaction with a strong, "Hey buddy! Don't do that!" If you have a problem with that, control your young...

I'm not the kind of mom that will let a mom bash another mom while she's not there to defend herself. I don't think there is anything that shows the ugly side of humanity more than a bunch of women clawing at the reputation of another woman. I'd love to see those same catty women try to say this with a straight face to their kids: "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."

What kind of mom am I?

I'm the mom that will squirt whipped cream into her kids mouths when they say they want dessert.
I'm the mom that will suffer mess after mess so that her kids can be creative.
I'm the mom that screws up... a lot... and cries about it... a lot.
I'm the mom that is ALWAYS late. To everything.
I'm the mom that hates homework more than her kids ever could. That's one reason we homeschool.
I'm the mom that hates volunteering in the classroom more than she hates homework. Another bonus reason for homeschooling.
I'm the mom who never folds the laundry and some mornings forgets to check if the kids brushed their teeth before leaving the house.
I'm the mom who tells the kids to turn the music up.
I'm the mom that unabashedly and imperfectly loves her kids.

I'm responsible... but I'm not perfect. And I don't ever want to be.

So I blog and I happen to be a mom. I guess I'm a mommy blogger if that's how you want to categorize me. But don't forget... I'm not *that* kind of mommy.

And if that bugs you... don't look.

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NaBloPoMo or NaNoWriMo?

Always up for a challenge… that’s me…

So this month, there are two Get Up and Go challenges happening. The National Blog Post Month and National Novel Writing Month. The first is about posts – one a day for the whole month of November. The second is geared more towards the completion of a novel. I’m not really sure what kind of book you could write in a month… and I’m sure there are nuances to this particular challenge. There *have* to be… Anyone? Well, anyway, I think I might just write a few thousand words a day as a writing exercise, which I had originally intended to do with this blog.

And that leads me to my question and poll:

When I was at BlogHer08 in San Francisco last summer, I met and heard from many women that had started their blogs as a way to get to the book inside of them, either as a writing exercise or a platform builder. I am happy to admit that I fall into that category. But there were also tons of blog writers that do product reviews, travel blogs, and social forums, as well. Each of us had a primary reason for jumping in to the blogoshpere. Like many projects, some have morphed into something that is a glimmer of that first spark. Others have stayed the course, but may be the third, fourth, or fifth project of a blogger.

So what about you? What got you going?

I’m going to attempt a post a day. Maybe in there, I’ll talk about the story in my head and how my month of writing is coming along. Anyone else feeling up to the challenge? Share your links in the comment section so we can all follow along.

FYI: I’m also going to see if I can get NaMoSleMo off the ground. That’s National Month to Sleep More. I made that one up… ;-)

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Technorati Tags: NaBloPoMo,NaWriMo,writing,blogging,polldaddy

And you know what I love about blogging?

If you are reading this, I am on a plane with a cocktail in hand.

I feel like I don't even want to know what next week has in store for me... like when nobody was really planning to come back to work after New Year's 2000. This time, though, my life may really be completely altered (or not). (This is where my mom would start splashing holy water on me and I'd have to remind her that by something, I meant something positive.) I'm trying not to have these great expectations, but how can I not??? What with Discovery Channel throwing the Experience Project Party (thanks Kate and Julio!), and then the BlogHer Newbie Party being only one floor up from the People's Party so I'm only an elevator ride away, you can hardly help but dream about the hangover and lost voice that will arrive Friday morning. Oh gosh, did I forget the CheeseburgHer party that Suburban Turmoil and Alpha Mom are throwing? Um, no I didn't! HOLLER! Then of course the actual convention (oh yeah...)with all the break-outs about turning your blog into a book, content syndication, monetizing... all that jazz. Let's not forget the opportunity to hear my heroes speak or sign their books for me or the necklace that signifies snapping solidarity. Or the Photo Walk!

Holy Crap Batman!

But before all of the parties were planned, I fell in deep like with all the people I've met through the BlogoSphere. I am always talking about them as if they are my coffee house buddies or my neighbors. I feel like my day isn't complete without checking in with D'Arcy or HappyWife. And the deeply touching ruminations of a couple of boys from Madison... wow. (True story... I wanted to go to UWMadison because I had once visited there and remembered how nice and how cute the boys were. Gus... Robb... what might have been... hahaha.) Plus of course my touchstones, Daily Goddess and Rowena, the Warrior Girl. I have been privy to some amazing insights into their hearts.

But the thing that I love most about blogging?

I just did it. Did you see? I started a sentence with "but." I could also start one with "and" if I wanted to. And (haha) I could just avoid commas altogether. I could also leave a sentence hanging out there all alone. Not a statement... it could just end in a question mark. Or (haha again) I can use elipses... all... I ... want ... a'la Joyce Carol Oates... but without all the fame... hmmm... let me do that again...

That feels GOOD!

Why? Because I majored in English. These little personal "statements" are me being all crazy rebellious. In another time, it would likely have sent my high school English UA teachers into a tizzy. They are top of mind right now because my TWENTY year reunion (holy sh!+) is next month. Plus, it's just so hard to forget them. They were SO. AMAZINGLY. UPTIGHT. Mr. Reese used to require that we use blue, black, or blue/black ink. When that quirk was noted in the yearbook, he was really not amused. Strange, but I don't recall what he looked like with a smile on his face, either. And Ms. Oh-What-Was-Her-Name... well, we'll call her Miss Betsy Fussypants. Goes with the hair. She had this annoying habit of perching on one foot and cracking the other ankle over and over and over... She used to confuse the shit out of me when it came to commas. They would be so red-lining my work with all the broken grammatical rules. But breaking the rules is what it's all about sometimes...

God, I love blogging...

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That's it for me until next week. I'll be keeping in touch through the tweets. They are likely to be the random babblings of a Good Time Girl named Sugar drunk with martinis who is being carted away by security from Dooce's suite, I'm sure... If you want to experience it all, you can follow me on Twitter. If you have better things to do than following me (like changing the toilet paper roll) we'll catch up next week. I plan to have many stories and accompanying photos.

And maybe that tattoo...

Ciao!

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