I'm THAT mom...

I am *loving* this impromptu blog carnival! Fun stuff - thanks, Ronnie!

I am that mom that gets the looks at the playgrounds & playplaces from other moms.

I am that mom who always seems to be smiling in the midst of mayhem and ruckus while other moms with leery looks guide their children wide around our "circle of influence".

I am that mom that sits in the restaurant making funny faces with her kids. The goofier, the better. Are there people watching? I have no idea - we're having too much fun!

I am that mom who buys her little boy Barbie-type & Bratz dolls.

I am that mom who sits with her wailing, screaming child in the middle of the dairy section of the superstore, rocking and mumbling sweet nothings while the storm runs its course.

I am that mom who has more than 2 boxes of collected "trash" in the form of snack & cereal boxes, supplement/vitamin bottle cotton, foam packing blocks, cardboard tubes and other scraps & bits for "just in case" art projects.

I am that mom that impresses her tween son's schooled friends with her hands-on-mouth fart noises.

I am that mom that shops for aluminum foil, PVC tubing & connectors, flour & sugar, and other odd items for her kids to experiment with, play with & build with.

I am that mom that sets up kickball for homeschoolers in our area, then plays with the kids, no matter how ridiculous I might look. :~D It's fun and I can't see how I might look, so I don't care. No matter *how* many times I fall. :~D

I am that mom that has a yard others must look at and think "garbage dump", but I see the result of hours of creativity.

I am that mom that defends her 6 year old's use of the F word to her mother, or any other word that doesn't hurt people, for pete's sake.

I am that mom that hopes that her kids will live with her or in the neighborhood for as long as possible, *but* is happy to help them and cheer them on if they decide otherwise.

I am (said with tongue in cheek and quite a large grin on my face) that mom who needs a long spot of quiet time to think when I write, to organize my thoughts, get that flow going from brain to "paper"to get a coherent result, but will happily take a break to read the "magazines" her youngest has just made, look at the creative mix-matching of pictures in a sales paper her oldest has created. Without once griping or yelling about "my time". Now, what was I saying?? :~)

Twenty, fifteen or even twelve years ago, I would never have imagined parenting the way Dave and I do today. Never. Much of the way we parent, I hadn't even imagined was possible! Funny, though, the relationship we have with our kids was also inconceivable to me even 10 years ago... Which is why it makes it *so* easy to smile and shrug off those glares in public places when I can imagine the thoughts going through those heads behind those glaring faces, "Look, it's one of *those* moms!" and consider myself in excellent company.

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Some links to other entries in the carnival (at which other links are available!):

http://zombieprincess.blogspot.com/2010/07/im-that-mom.html

http://bearthmama.com/2010/07/that-kinda-mama/

http://piscesgrrrl.blogspot.com/2010/07/i-am-that-mom.html

http://justabaldman.blogspot.com/2010/07/impromptu-blog-carnival-i-am-that-dad.html

http://www.swissarmywife.net/2010/07/i-am-that-dad-my-column-at-enjoy-life/

http://www.frecklesfilledwithlove.blogspot.com/ part 1

http://www.frecklesfilledwithlove.blogspot.com/ part 2