Today I'm the meanest mom because I won't let sweet Caroline go sledding. She's on an antibiotic for stinkin' bronchitis, and isn't that one step away from pneumonia? I'm no doctor, but I told her I thought we should wait until Wednesday. This of course led to pouting, arm-crossing, and a whole lotta "I never get to do anything!"
Oh really? I found a way to make it up to my sweet angel with a little help from Paula Deen.
Paula's Snow Ice Cream
With only three ingredients, I thought a batch of snow ice cream might be just what the doctor ordered for a disappointed girl and a mom who doesn't want to be the meanest. Luckily I had a can of sweetened condensed milk and a huge jug of yummy Mexican vanilla (Thanks to Marvin and Linda).
Sledding with Dad might be the best thing to do on a snow day, but making a batch of snow ice cream (and it was rich and yummy) might be a close second. We each got a bowl of it and put one in the freezer for a napping Joey. My hero Jay, not wanting to dirty any more dishes than necessary, decided to eat his out of the great big bowl. How generous.
I'm hoping to do this ice cream with the kids at the New Year's Eve party at our friends' house tonight. How fun will that be?
"Strive for progress, not for perfection," states a quote I saw while perusing Pinterest the other day. I guess I can try. That's certainly a switch from "Do or do not; there is no try," a quote from Yoda that I chose for my high school senior yearbook 15 years ago. I'm Beth, a 33-year-old mom, wife and teacher. I keep up with two busy kids, a busy husband and a fairly demanding job -- all the while defining myself way too much by my flaws. And I suspect I'm not alone.
After my rambunctious two-year-old goes to bed in the evening, I often enjoy clicking through mom blogs to get some tips on organization, cooking, time management, money saving, being a good mom, etc. But so many times, the blogs leave me feeling more inadequate than I did when I started clicking through them. How can mom bloggers so effectively homeschool their kids, stay in shape, manage a perfectly clean and organized home, cook nutritious meals from scratch every evening while they save time to blog about their perfect lives? As my husband would probably say, "Maybe they do, and maybe they don't."
My overall goal for 2013 is to spend less time comparing myself to others and simply TRY to chip away at correcting some of my flaws while realizing that under the layers and layers of flaws, there might be a few strengths. Creating a blog is a way to recognize how I'm making those corrections, while returning to writing -- a passion I gave up about eight years ago after I left a career in newspaper reporting for a new career in teaching high school students. I plan to post about a variety of activities and how they've contributed in a positive way to someone - be it my kids, husband, students, parents, friends or (just maybe) myself.
There I am two years ago, holding my handsome son Joey at his baptism. Those surrounding me are some of my biggest supporters: My always-supportive mom and dad (left), beautiful daughter Caroline and grandmother Betty (center), father-in-law Marvin (standing center) and mother-in-law Linda (right) and that hunk standing behind me with the white shirt and tie is my loving husband of 10 years, Jay.
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