Michelle Smiles

Teaching my children to question authority, except mine.

Guatoberfest – Have a seat

October8

Lots of photos to follow so get your coffee and have a seat. First I should say that we arrived a day later than everyone else and left a day earlier – we were only there for just over 24 hours. Because of this, I didn’t get a meet a good number of families. I did get to meet Kelly and Alleen – the 2 I most looked forward to finally meeting in person. (Hey P – where were you girl? I’ve met you but haven’t had the pleasure of meeting M and missed you guys!) We even had a couple of lovely non-Guat adoptive families (hi Muriel! hi Dorie!).  But Atlanta seemed like a lovely city with a lively downtown area. Our hotel was next to the aquarium and across the street from the Bicentennial Olympic Park.

Self Portrait:

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At one point we took over a very large portion of the park with strollers and beautiful Guatemalan babies. This was the last wave of strollers arriving:

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Kelly and Kathlyn:

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Alleen chasing after Gabriella:

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Sabrina thought it was all kind of cool for a while but then started to get a little tired and overwhelmed:

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So we grabbed some dinner and went back to the hotel. The beds sucked so no one slept well except Miss Sabrina (and that is what counts, right?). The next morning we wandered down to breakfast and it felt like very familiar – it was like going down to breakfast at the Westin and looking around for other families, asking how the night went, etc.

Sabrina and Gabriella made friends during breakfast – Gabriella even let mommy sit down for a little while and chat!
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After breakfast, we returned to the room so Sabrina could nap before the aquarium. Unfortunately, she fought the nap so we had to wake her early to check out. For those who think my child smiles all of the time – I give you the result of waking her early from her nap:

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On to the aquarium – which was very cool but very crowded.

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I loved the beluga whales

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Sea lions swimming by:

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We left after the aquarium. Thanks to Julia and Kerry for organizing this (and anyone else who was involved)!

After our 4 hour ride home, Sabrina, who had spent 90% of her day in the stroller or the car seat, proceeded to go insane. She crawled all over the apartment like a mad woman and played with every single toy that she could get her hands on until we put her to bed and she passed out.

Odds & Ends & a meme

October5

First, my poor girl has her first diaper rash and it is killing me!  I feel so horrible because she sobs every time I change her diaper.  I know about Butt Paste and am going to pick some up today – any other tips?  She was actually bleeding a little when I wiped her last time.

We are headed to Atlanta tomorrow for Guatoberfest.  Most people are arriving today so I hope we don’t miss out on too much of the fun!  So I will leave you with this meme that made me laugh when I saw it elsewhere.  I will return with many photos of beautiful Guatemalan babies.

Chou and Elle did this one and it made me laugh so I thought I would throw it out on a day I have nothing else to blog about (ummm…most days?)

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)
Muffin Altima

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Coffee Ripple Sugar

3. YOUR “FLY GIRLl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first 3 letters of last name)
M-Bro

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal),
Yellow Puppy (sounds like someone to fear)

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born),
Ann Lima

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first),
Bro-Mi

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink),
The Orange Long Island Iced Tea (another one to fear LOL)

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers),
Malcolm Delbert

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy),
Jessica McClintock Snickers (that one doesn’t really work)

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ),
Hervey Glynn

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter),
Corn Corapolis (sounds like an empty headed blonde)

12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower).
Spring Tulip

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
Cantaloupe Boxer Shortsie

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)
Bagel Dogwood

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather + “Tour”)

The Cooking Blue Skies Tour

Thanks!

October4

Thanks to everyone who delurked and said hello yesterday and earlier today.  I think it is so much fun to hear from those who are new to reading here or those who don’t normally comment.  (Of course you all know I adore those of you who comment regularly.  Smooches.)  You can all return to lurking if you wish.  I know that I often don’t comment on blogs that I read daily – either because I don’t have time or because I don’t have anything to say.

I only received 2 questions from that post, so I will answer them today.

Tricia asked if I have found a new fabulous lunch spot here in Nashville.  Sadly, no.  We haven’t really found any place fabulous yet.  We’ve found some good places and some okay places but nothing that has made my eyes roll back in my head.  There is a Persian place that we liked.  The Mexican place I went on a mom’s night out was pretty yummy.  And a bar and grill place that made pretty kick ass pulled pork tacos and had a great beer menu.  But nothing brunch worthy yet.  Of course, part of that is because we aren’t going out a lot – Steve’s been crazy busy at work and we are being frugal due to the mortgage/rent obligations.

Lori asked about the transition to being a SAHM.  I emailed my response to her but decided to include it here because I know there are a few other people out there struggling with this.  Here was my response:
As for the transition…honestly, I cheated.  I didn’t have that going to work one day and then suddenly the next having no where to go.  Obviously I did quit my job and not have to go back…but I quit my job 10 days before moving to Guatemala to foster so I was consumed with details to get ready for that.  My first 2 months as a stay at home mom, I wasn’t at home – I was living in Guatemala.  Being so completely out of my element (and country and home) made me marvel less at the not working thing and more at the “holy crap I am living thousands of miles away from my husband and I don’t speak the language and the water is evil”.  Then when I came home, I had to spend 2 or 3 weeks packing up my house to move to another state, again without my husband, while trying to let all of our friends and family meet Sabrina.  Then I got to TN and had to unpack all of those same boxes.  So it was probably mid-August (I left my job the first week of April) before the “Oh crap, I don’t have a job any more” thing hit me.

That being said, the 2 biggest hurdles I’ve had to overcome in order to be a happy stay at home mommy are: 1) not being isolated and 2) letting go of the career identity I’ve had for the past dozen years.  The isolated part is probably the easiest in theory.  There are different ways to find mommy groups (they can kind of suck – but go anyway…it really does help to get out of the house even if it is just to make fun of the super anal mommies in your head – but keep it in your head or they will beat you with an organic 12 grain loaf of bread they baked themselves that morning and those suckers are dense so it hurts).  If you need some ideas to find some groups, try meetup.com and craigs list and if you have one of those local freebie papers check those out too – or just google.  The identity part was much harder for me.  It was all good and noble to say I was moving to Guatemala to take care of my daughter but once I got home I was just another mommy.  I felt like I had less worth when someone asked what I did and I had to answer that I was “just a mommy now”.  I would usually add what I did in my previous life just so they knew I used to be interesting.  I was so invested in my identity as a social worker – saving children, and women, and families – why was it so hard to admit that I was putting my own child and family first?  Why did I feel that held so little value in the eyes of other people?  I am still working to make peace with my feelings about where my identity lies now.  There are days I swear I am getting dumber by the second.  But when I think about the alternative – coming home after a day of pointless (I worked for a government bureaucracy – trust me they were pointless) meetings and having someone else tell me how Sabrina’s day was – I know I am doing the right thing for us.

It really is harder than I guessed in some ways and easier in others.  I never dreamed how much mental energy it would take to be “on” all day long for her.  But I also anticipated more crying (her not me – but you never know) and fewer giggles.  I also thought the days would seem longer – but they really fly by (except that last hour before daddy gets home to take over).  The sameness of the days that gets to me sometimes.   But Sabrina thrives on the routine so I just vary what kind of liquor I put in my hip flask to shake things up.
So there you have it.  Any more questions?  And if anyone knows of a eyes-roll-back-in-your-head brunch place in Nashville, please share.

posted under blog, nashville | 14 Comments »

Come out, come out where ever you are!

October3

pink.jpg I’ve read in several places that today has been declared a delurk day.  Delurking means all of you out there who read but don’t comment as are supposed to reveal yourselves.  Apparently some of the bigger bloggers have noticed a decline in commenting but not in the number of readers so they want to encourage comments.  As for me?  I get comments when my posts are worthy of comment and not so many when they are not.  So I won’t pressure you all to comment if you don’t want to.  If you have nothing to say, ask me a question.  Something you are curious about, something you are dying to know about my glamorous life or my flawless parenting techniques (for those who are new here – that was sarcasm).  Or just say hi.  Or not.  Whatever.

(Zoot even stopped and commented here!?!  I feel like I was visited by a rock star!)

One other option – you can be embarrassed for me as I share too much information with the internet and then look at cute photos of my kid.

Yesterday, I was in the bathroom with my usual audience.  I, like many, have some reading materials in the bathroom.  Sabrina suddenly leaves the bathroom and I hear her rummaging in her basket of toys and books in my bedroom.  She returns with her Brown Bear book and sits in front of me “reading” it.  Having a kid keeps me laughing.

Okay, a few photos and I’ll wrap this bad boy up.

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This is her “kitty”

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which she loves to give kisses to

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posted under blog | 32 Comments »

It must be nice…

October1

It must be nice to be the only person on the face of the Earth (or at least the only one who matters in your mind).  If I was on the only one who mattered:

* I could leave my cart in the middle of the aisle at the grocery store so no one could pass by on either side while I examined the fiber content of each and every brand of cereal on the shelf while ignoring those saying “Excuse me”.

*  I could drive in the left lane while going 8 miles under the speed limit with cars continuously passing me on the right all because I might decide to turn left somewhere in the next 23 miles.

*  I could talk loudly on my cell phone to my BFF about my date last night while ignoring the customers I am paid to wait on.

*  I could park cockeyed and take up 2 spaces in a crowded lot without feeling badly at all.

*  I could take my dog over to the neighboring apartment building, allow him to poop right by someone else’s steps so that I don’t have to smell it/see it/step in it by my own steps, and not clean it up in a bag provided by the apartment complex for that very function.

*  I could move furniture at 3am regardless of the fact that I live in an apartment and people live below me.

*  I could play the music in my car so loudly that the base would shake the fillings in people’s mouths 5 cars away.

So, how was your day?

posted under humor | 17 Comments »
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