To Read on the Journey

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Being the "Cool Mommy" Joy.

i'm joining blog friend kristen with another week {or two} of joys (btw- kristen is hosting a give-away at her blog}.

i'm the mom that wants her kids to think she's cool {"cool" for me equals off the wall, silly, spontaneous, and playful.  note webster's definition of "cool" is entirely different than mine}.
however like all mommies i get caught up in laundry, school work, bills, "training them in the way they should go," disciplining, and the daily droll of life,  thus the playful/joyful  side of me becomes non-existent.

when i am out of sorts with that playful side of me i feel that i am in a "cool mommy" deficit. 

i loose what brings me joy...

me bringing my family joy. 

i want to be a source of their joy {not The source, but a source}.    

so  i kicked my "cool" up a notch. 

   breakfast date with my kids; french toast n' bacon, chocolate milk, playing skip-bo and uno, and being told "you're so cool mommy" 50 times {back in the saddle again}. 

breakfast date continued at the bowling alley.
30 more "you're so cool mommy" praises.

noah is 12 {hence the smug look on his face.  the age 12 is the top reason i am in the "you're a cool mommy" deficit}  finding joy with a jr. higher is becoming increasingly more difficult.   awe, but it is not impossible, i just have to be more intentional about finding it, spreading it, living in it! 

noah playing pinball with the "king of rock'n' roll."  a girl i knew in high school decorated her room in elvis paraphernalia.  in 1990.  weird, right?
that girl was me!   
 
 a much needed double date night with friends, eric & michelle. 
pf chang's, 3 rounds of lazer tag, and dessert at marie callendar's. 
my lazer tag name was "swpdalgjny" {sweep the leg johnny, watch this video if you don't get it}.
this date night was lonnnngggg over due (our last date was in october).
lazer tag is fun... note to self "wear depends."
i shared a kiss with michael,
and that yummmmmyyyy brownie sunday with michelle. 
michelle and i scored "your the coolest wife" praises from our husbands for planning an awesome date {i'm never in a "cool wife" deficit with michael because he is crazy about me}.


i do a little side job for someone from home. it's mindless busywork that can be done while homes schooling or watching gilmore girls {or "glamor girls" as josie refers to them}.
this side job is paying for michael and i to go to MAUI this summer to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary!!!  just anticipating joy brings joy.  i have enough saved so we can go. woot woot!  child care is arranged so we can go, yipeee!!  now i need to work on saving for meals, outings, and souvenirs (like a t-shirt that says my parent's went to maui and all i got was this shirt for my kids).

breakfast courtesy of the kitchen of lorelai and rory gilmore; rice krispies and mini marshmallows... they're magically delicious, and equal a dozen more "your so cool mommy" accolades!


finally, michael went snow-camping with my our good friend jeff this past weekend {crazy menfolk!}.  snow-camping would bring me absolutely no joy, however it brings my husband TONS of joy, and that makes me joyful. 
while they trekked through blizzards and slept in what might as well have been an igloo, jeff's car "ginger" was parked in my driveway.  
she is so nice to look at. 
to sit in.  
to smell.  
to pretend you are driving.
i'm in love. 

this car makes me feel giddy, and reminds me of a past joy.



10 comments:

Kathleen said...

So so fun! You definitely seem like the cool mom.

Have a fantastic vacation, one that you worked for and deserve.

And that car, fab.

Mrs. Frogster said...

Wow! A great reminder to get my joy on! Luckily, it doesn't take much for my littles to think I'm a cool mom. . . for now anyway.
and congrats on the vacay! sounds like so so much fun!

Lynn said...

You are SUCH the cool mom!!! ...and a cool blogger who includes adorable, fun pictures with your joy filled post. Love it!

Paige said...

looks awesome...you are always the cool mom in my opinion. Would covet your prayers for my husband's family. We have been turned upside down with some crazy news...

Love you girl-
paige

Kristen said...

you are so cool. i want my kids to think i am a cool mommy. even though i am working on finding joy i still find i am bogged down with the house, errands, the to do list... but it is a process and i hope i am making progress. you are filled with joy and find joy in your children and with your children. love you.

i haven't watched gilmore girls... i might need to add it to my netflix queue. kid appropriate or a mommy show??

miss you!

Vessel said...

Ok, I'll say it out loud, "You're Cool". There. Oh, the lady who watches your kids while you go out on your date is "Cool" too.

Kristen said...

okay it just dawned on me that you shared a dessert. is it only nachos you don't share?? just curious.

see you are always on my mind ;O)

Simply Sara said...

you are the coolest mommy i know.

yay maui. now time to start saving for canada.
;)

i'm giving my kids a gilmore breakfast tomorrow.
that'll make me one step closer to being as cool as you.

Alana said...

I am really bad at being the "cool mommy". I need lessons.

ga said...

you make me laugh so i think you're just plain cool, mommy & all! (i can't...no wait, i can believe you attacked the couple in the falcon club while michael circled the parking lot!)