The kids begin school today.  Ceb is now a third grader, and Isa is a second grader.  I can’t believe how fast time is flying.  I still remember when they were super small, and I was able to put one on each hip, and carry them around.  Now? I would break my back if I attempted to do that.  I still pick them up (one by one…of course) and give them tons of kisses.

One thing I have learned is to enjoy every moment because the next one might not be there. I want to be able to cherish the time that I had with them because in a blink of an eye, they will be teenagers, and then college kids, and then having their own families, and they won’t need me as much.  It reminds me of one of my favorite children’s books “Love You Forever,” which stems from when he is a baby until the mother is old and gray.  I hope that they still want me around even when they are older and more independent.

A childhood is something that a person treasures for the rest of his/her life. I was lucky enough that I had a wonderful childhood filled with activities, family time, and memories that I will never forget.  I want to give that to my children.I don’t want them looking back and having any bouts of sadness that they weren’t able to be happy children. Since they were babies, it’s only been me, so that responsibility falls on my shoulders.

I hope that all the children out there have a wonderful school year. Parents, remember to take tons of pictures because they will not stay that small forever.

The answer is “Yes, I am tearing up while I write this.”

Finding the right person who is perfect for you is a feat. You have to date tons of “wrong” people, which can be stressful and draining.  Believe me, I have dated a bunch of them, and I am someone who really hates dating. There were times that I was ready to give up because I couldn’t take another date that was not going anywhere.  I actually did.  I decided that it was time that I cut my losses, and I just remain happily single. This was until one of my dear friends T. sent out an email on how to increase the chances of finding someone.  If you want to read it, click here.

It really made me start thinking that maybe I shouldn’t give up. I decided to get back in the dating scene again after talking to my other great friend D.  She said not to give up and to give it one last chance, so I did. I joined Match.com to see who was out there. In the past, I tried EHarmony after T. found her fiancée on there, but it didn’t work.  I always felt that Match was more for people who just wanted to casually date and didn’t have any children. However, I really wasn’t going to try EHarmony again, and I was seeing all these ads for Match, so I decided that maybe the stars were trying to tell me something. I am glad that I was wrong about Match. There was a greater selection of guys who seemed genuine, and I didn’t feel out of place because I’m a single mother. I went on dates with a few guys hoping to find the right guy.

I know the traits a guy has to have to be perfect for me:

• Good-natured
• Total geek
• Dry humor
• Adventurous
• Similar interests
• Movie guru
• Adores me
• Emotionally stable
• Honest
• I don’t cringe when he touches me
• We can talk for hours on the phone
• I can think about him for hours on end

I will have to say that I think I found someone who seems to fit the bill.  All I can do is be hopeful and optimistic.

Some people are afraid to do the right thing because they fear that it will cause others to turn their backs on them. I realized that after my sister passed away that I needed to listen to my intuition more, and do what I felt was the right thing to do, even if wasn’t going to make me the most popular person. There are some past situations that I wished I would have voiced my disapproval because maybe things would have turned out better than they did.

I know that this time, I will do the right thing.  I’m at the point that I don’t really care what others think or say about me, so why not do it?

One of the jobs that a parent has to fulfill is making your kids feel like they are the most special people in your life. You want them to feel that if someone wrongs them, you will be there to fight for them. They should know that you are with them every step of the way.

It’s something I try to do. My kids know that I am there for them, and that no one is as important in my life as they are. It’s something that my parents never made my sisters and I feel. Since we were small, we have felt that it was us vs. the world. If someone bashed us, our parents would look the other way. If they compared us to someone else, it was usually that we didn’t compare.  We never felt protected or truly loved by them.

I don’t want that for my children.  I don’t want their self-esteem to be affected because they think I don’t love them the way a parent should. I don’t want them looking at other parents with a look of wanting cause they see the difference on how they are with their kids. Or feeling less cause all I can talk about is how awful they are and constantly putting them down with other people. Or treating us like enemies when they are fighting, and only becoming united when they were angry at us.

Nope, my kids will never feel that way. I won’t allow them to feel the way that my sisters and I have felt my entire life.

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I took the kids to the National Zoo yesterday. We had a blast going around and seeing all the animals. Here is a video that is a compilation of all the animals we saw.