Confessions of the Real Me Archives

11/26/16

Confessions of the Real Me: My Baby Lost His First Tooth

Confessions of the Real Me. just a series on my blog where i share the not so perfect bits and pieces of my life. because in reality…our lives are not always the perfect pictures that we share on social media channels. i know mine isn’t….but i’ll take it.

My Baby Lost His First Tooth

Vann lost his tooth this weekend. it has been wiggly for a long time, but i have not encouraged him to pull it out at all. i didn’t want him to lose it. of course i knew that i couldn’t prevent it from coming out, but i dreaded this day. not just a little….A LOT. and during our Black Friday shopping, that bottom little wiggly tooth got twisted in a way that was bothering Vann. when he went to touch it, that little tooth fell right out.

whaaaaa!

i just can’t handle my kiddies losing their teeth, especially their first ones. to me, this is the day their baby smiles change forever, and our babies turn into big kids. i especially can’t even with those top two teeth. the toothless grin is cute and all,…but when those Chicklet-sized top teeth come in, say goodbye to that baby smile.

so here was Vann with his new little smile, and i am trying to be excited. it was so hard!!! even he wasn’t quite sure if he liked this new look, but we managed to get him excited for the tooth fairy to come and also about becoming a big kid. (even if i am not okay with him growing up.)

okay. i do admit his new smile is pretty cute…but i am still in denial that he is growing up. 6-1/2. he is already 6-1/2!!!!! nooooo.

luckily, the tooth fairy made it to Vann’s room that night. this often doesn’t happen when you get to that second child…and especially when you are onto the third child. that darn tooth fairy tends to get more and more “busy”, and you end up having to think up an excuse to why the tooth fairy didn’t come. but not this time a miracle occurred and the tooth fairy remembered out house! *pat on the back*

Vann was thrilled to wake up to a crisp $5 bill in a plastic sandwich baggie. apparently, the third kid does’t get one of those fancy tooth pillows or tooth holders.

mom fail.

but then again, at least the tooth fairy didn’t forget. WIN! and now mom will go cry in the corner while those permanent adult teeth fill the spaces in her baby’s mouth. sigh….mom life….all the feels.

Posted by Jill | 11/26/16
Filed Under: Confessions of the Real Me

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9/11/15

Confessions of the Real Me: Fix Your Clothes or Throw Them Out

Fix Your Clothes or THROW THEM OUT!

with the boys in school, i have made it a mission for myself to get my life in order. this is the first time in twelve years that i have had all my kids in school. it’s a NEW LIFE FOR ME! i have plans to clean out the house, clean out my emails, and for once in my life, finally get my life organized. i am determined, and i know this is the time to do it. however, so far, not much has gotten done. i broke my arm, and now things are moving a lot sssssllllooooooowerrrrrrrr than planned.

today, i was pulling out some clothes from my overflowing dresser, and realized i can’t wait any longer to organize things in my home.

i came across “THE PANTS”

OMG!!! these pants just brought back one of the most embarrassing moments in my life! why are they STILL in my drawer???? didn’t i learn my lesson????

they are still in my drawer because, i thought i would fix them. but no, they aren’t fixed, and they’ve been sitting in that drawer for at least four years. probably seven. yep….i really can’t keep living with so much stuff. i need to declutter ASAP.

NOW…..let me tell you about these pants…

once upon a time about four years ago, there was a knock at the door. it was mid-morning, and i was home alone for some unknown reason i can’t remember. i was hanging out in bed working on the computer in only a shirt.

i had no pants on…AND no underwear.

I KNOW!!!! TMI.

but that is all i had on. so the story goes.

i heard another knock on the door, so i jumped up and rummaged through my dresser to find a pair of pants. i saw a pair of colorful rainbow pajama bottoms folded in the drawer. “hmmm, where have these been?” i thought to myself. i hadn’t worn them for a long time, and that was strange, because i really quite liked them.

i threw the pajama bottoms on, and ran downstairs to answer the door. i opened it up to find one of my very best friends who was just stopping by to say ‘hi’ on her way through town. we chatted for a moment at the door, but quickly moved the conversation to the driveway. her car was running with the baby in the car, we didn’t want to leave her there all alone.

i looked like crap. messy hair, messy clothes. but that was okay, we’re totally comfortable around each other in that way. no need to hide the clutter, or put on makeup, or get dressed up. there is no need to impress good friends…or anyone for that matter.

BUT…..

there are things that don’t need to be shared, EVEN with your best of friends.

like….down ‘there’.

yep. during our engaging chat on the driveway that had gone on for at least twenty minutes,…her eyes suddenly glance down towards my crotch. in shock, she let out a huge, O MY GOSH!!!!!!!! JILL, WHAT ARE YOU WEARING!!!!!!

i looked down, only to see a huge, i mean HUGE gap in the front crotch of my pants. and then i felt the breeze! how did i not notice? it was at least 10 inches long. the seam of my pj bottoms was ripped from the front waist band all to way to the back. a giant gaping hole exposed my hoohaw to the world. OMG!!! i screamed!!!!! talk about embarrassing.

NOW i remembered why i hadn’t worn those pants for a long time. but too late now.

of course, we laughed it off. and i seriously regretted the fact i didn’t put on any underwear in my rush to put on ‘THE PANTS’. (don’t worry, i usually do wear them.)

it was definitely one of my more embarrassing moments in life. but at least it was my friend who i shared it with. it would have been quite an awkward moment if it had been the UPS guy. sheeeesh!

the moral of the story is…

Fix Your Clothes or THROW THEM OUT!

get rid of the clutter. unless you want to have drawers full of useless clothing. unless you want to have an embarrassing moment like me. it’s so much better to live without clutter, and extra unless stuff. BUT HEY!!! maybe your friends need a laugh. i’m still ‘semi-laughing’ today.

ha. ha.

Posted by Jill | 9/11/15
Filed Under: Confessions of the Real Me

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7/2/15

Confessions of the Real Me: I Locked My Baby in a Car on a Hot Day

with my boys on swim team this year, and me contemplating on whether or not to put the littlest in swim lessons, i was just reminded of one of the most scary moments in my life. that ended up being one of my most humiliating experiences as a mom. i have lots of crazy stories of motherhood, as most moms do and this one is right up there with the ones I wish never happened.

The time I locked my baby in a car on a hot day

a little over nine years ago, i had my oldest son in private swim lessons. he was four years old and my middle son was a newborn, just about three months old. my friend’s husband taught swim lessons at a private pool in a gated community. that particular afternoon, we were the only people at the pool. it was extremely hot. VERY HOT. like over 100º degrees.

after my son’s lesson was over, the teacher walked us back to my car. with a new baby in tow, i had a lot of stuff. a car seat to carry, swim gear, PLUS the baby and my four year old. the swim teacher was was just being helpful by carrying some of my things to the car.

when we got there, i started the car engine to get the air conditioning going. it was SO HOT outside, as i mentioned before. my oldest son was sitting on the grass next to the car not to get his feet burnt while we were loading the car. i snapped the baby’s car seat into the car seat base and buckled him into it, the swim teacher and i chatted. the front passenger door was open, all my stuff including my purse and cell phone, were sitting on the front seat. i shut the baby’s door and walked around the front of the car to next load my older son into it.

i watched in slow motion as the swim teacher walked towards the front passenger door.

then “SLAM”!!!

and click.

the swim teacher shut the front car door!

i tried to stop him, but it was too late. my heart sunk….especially when i remembered that my keys were still in the car. it wasn’t the teachers fault. for some reason, my car, a Mitsubishi Montero Sport, would lock all the doors the minute they all were shut. and sure enough….BABY WAS LOCKED IN THE CAR!!!!!!

i literally freaked out!

i sort of panicked and screamed at the teacher to help me figure out what to do. i guess men are different than women when it comes to these matters (but i know this isn’t the case for all men), but his non-urgent suggestion of calling AAA was not the solution i was looking for AT ALL! he just didn’t understand that locking a child in a hot car was such an urgent matter. he said that since the A/C was on, the baby should be fine as AAA would be there in 30-45 minutes. but my car’s A/C didn’t get cool unless the car was moving!

Should I break the window? i contemplated.

i was in a swimsuit and barefoot. i had nothing to get the baby out. my mama bear instincts kicked in, and i made the teacher give me his cell phone so that i could call the police. the swim teacher still thought AAA was a better choice, and since i took his phone, he drove home to find the number. he lived at least 2 miles away!

So I called the police. BUT….

i was at a community pool….

i had no address….

smart phones were still not invented….

i knew the main cross streets, but that was it! WHERE THE HECK WAS I??!!!

talking on the phone with the police, they directed my call to the fire station that they thought was closest to me. a fire truck was dispatched to come, and i was talking to a fire fighter as they drove to rescue my baby from the heat of the car. we frantically tried to figure out how to get the firemen to where i was.

it was getting hotter.

i carefully watched my baby in the car, he looked fine, but since the car was on, i could see the digital temperature display on the dashboard and the numbers said 102º!

again, the fireman asked me over and over where they could find us. i looked everywhere for a street sign or address number. ANYTHING to let me know where I was.

NOTHING!!!

i began to get flustered. i couldn’t figure out where i was, i started crying and the urgency of getting my baby out started to panic me. the fireman told me to leave the baby and walk down the street to the nearest house and ask someone to tell me the street names.

I didn’t want to leave him.

but i had no choice. i saw the temperature rise to 104º.

crying, i grabbed my older son and started walking. the nearest street with houses was two blocks away. i was so scared, but the fireman kept assuring me that it would be okay.

then, when i thought things were just getting worse, the fireman announced that they had found the entrance to the gated community. they were accessing the gate code to get in! What a relief. i heard the sound of the big fire truck rumble up the street. i turned around and ran back to the car and was met with a crew of firemen with crowbars. a rush of relief come over me. i looked inside and baby was still alert in his seat.

“Mam, is it okay if we use this to open you car? it may ruin the doorframe.” asked one of the firemen.

“YESSSSSSSS!!!!!! just GET HIM OUT OF THERE” i cried.

in a quick swoop, the firemen shoved the crowbar thingy into the door and the locks popped open. in what seemed like hours but was only minutes, i was able to open the door and get my baby out.

i pulled baby out of his carseat. HE WAS FINE. a little sweaty, but nothing wrong with him at all. the firemen took him from me to check his vitals. i stood up from the car seat and looked around. there were at least ten firemen standing around me. looking pretty cute i must say. i guess i have a thing for firemen!

with everyone safe, the panic left me and i was finally calm. the firemen were so nice and reassuring. they told me that this happens quite often. (i guess i wasn’t the worse mom after all.) but i did feel super embarrassed.

then I heard someone say my name….

“Hi Jill!”

i looked around. i was hot, sweaty, barefoot in only a swimsuit and towel, i looked awful. probably worse then when i wake up in the morning. who just said my name???

and then i saw him.

you know that guy that everyone had a crush on all throughout elementary and high school? the hot, cute guy, who all the girls were in love with???? THAT GUY!

THE HOT GUY FROM HIGHSCHOOL WAS ONE OF THE FIREMEN WHO SAVED MY BABY FROM THE HOT CAR.

I was MORTIFIED!!!!

not only did i look awful with no makeup, crazy hair and barely any clothes, i was a blubbery mess with tears and snot smeared all over my face, my car had Subway sandwich wrappers all over the place and needed a wash badly.

UGH! i wanted to hide. did he just hear the whole crazy mom crying session over the firetruck loud speaker as they drove over here? did he think i was the most irresponsible mom in my city? did he think i was the biggest pig for having a dirty car with fast food wrappers on the seat???

i have no idea. i can only assume.

but, he DID have the biggest smile on his face….still cute like in high school. sigh. we small chatted as all of the firemen loaded up the truck to go back to the station. i thanked all of the firemen for saving my baby…including the cute guy from high school…now turned HOT fireman, and they drove away.

that wasn’t embarrassing at all.

not.

(and i sure hope he never reads this.)

P.S. i still think my husband is hotter.

Posted by Jill | 7/2/15
Filed Under: Confessions of the Real Me

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2/18/15

Confessions of the Real Me: I Kidnapped Someone’s Child

The Time I Kidnapped Someone’s Child

i actually can’t believed this happened. just can NOT. but then again, with how crazy busy life has been lately, i feel like i am walking around like a chicken with it’s head cut off. a perfect analogy of how i felt this particular evening when i took all three boys to the sporting goods store to get baseball gear for the season. having boys who have played baseball the last 7 years, you would think i’d have all the gear i’d need. but no, the boys had to go and GROW AGAIN this year.

now, you already know how i feel about baseball season. i am very vocal about this. me NO LIKEY. but i drag myself through it each year for my boys…who LOVE to play.

so getting back to the story…

last week, the whole family was at the Sporting Goods store. we needed pants, sleeves, belts, socks, and cleats. and i need to get a second job to pay for all this stuff LOL. my oldest son needed to try on the pants because i just wasn’t sure about the sizing. i had to take him to the opposite side of the store to the dressing room, so i made sure my husband knew he had the responsibility of watching our other two boys.

i am paranoid about loosing my kids in public places (thats other story in itself that i will share with you sometime), so i TRIPLE CHECKED that my husband would watch the other two boys while i was in the dressing room. i am sure that i was very annoying asking him over AND over again. but he assured me not to worry because he was watching them.

i finished up in the dressing room with my oldest son and came out and looked down. THERE WAS MY YOUNGEST SON standing in front of dressing room door. i was so mad, that i blurted out….

“Why is your dad not watching you!!!!!! Come here NOW!!!!!” i quickly turned and huffed toward the baseball apparel section. my son followed.

i wasn’t sure if he was following me fast enough, so i turned back to check that he was. except…….

my son was WEARING A DRESS. a turquoise dress with a ruffled skirt.

wth?!!!!!!!

O. M. GGGGGGGG!!!!!!!

it wasn’t my son at all. it was a little girl about the same size as my son. but it wasn’t my son at all. how did this happen? and where did my son go?….

i looked ahead and called to my husband. “Do you have the boys?”

“YES he shouted.”

i turned back to the little girl apologizing. she was very quiet, just standing there in the middle of the aisle. her hair was the same color dirty blonde color as my son’s, but it was pretty long. how could i have mistaken her for my son???

then she turned to the side and i realized how i could have done this. she did have long hair, but only on ONE SIDE. the other side was shorter, cut just like my sons. it was an asymmetrical haircut sorta like this one but much longer on one side and shorter on the other.

i started to panic inside. I JUST KIDNAPPED SOMEONE’S KID!!!!!

i got down on my knees and asked the little girl where here mom or dad was, and told her in a very calming voice that i was sorry that i thought she was my little kid. she said she didn’t know where her mom was, so i assured her we would find her mommy….all while thoughts of panicked thoughts swirled in my head.

WHAT IS HER MOM GOING THINK? i just took her kid. i can’t believe i just did this!!!!!

luckily, seconds later, i heard a mom calling for her child. i called the mom over to us, telling her where the little girl was. then i apologized explaining the situation and that i had accidentally mistaken the little girl for my son and made her come with me.

the mom was very understanding and told me the little girl had wandered off without her before i had taken her, so i was not the one who had separated them from each other. at the same time, she was upset that the little girl would let a stranger take her somewhere. it was a scary lesson learned by the little girl…that i would have rather not been a part of.

and i learned a valuable lesson that day as well. one, i need to trust my husband better. and two, i need to slow down and and pay attention to what i am doing. sometimes when life gets hectic, we need to take a step back and breath. i definitely need to remind myself to do this. from now on my mantra is to slow down….pay closer attention to what i am doing…..breath….and never kidnap another kid again!

Posted by Jill | 2/18/15
Filed Under: Confessions of the Real Me

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9/23/14

Confessions of the Real Me: The Hottest Week of the Year

The Hottest Week of the Year

last week in Southern California it was hot. no joke. it actually ended up being the hottest week of the year so far. so hot that this was mondays weather….

yep. 108º flipping degrees!

i just can’t believe it got that hot…and it lasted for days. dayzzzzzz i tell you. mother nature was seriously playing with us, and not in a good way.

it was so hot outside, we even tried cooking eggs on the hot asphalt. my boys thought i was the coolest mom…and pretty much figured that i had i lost my mind. yes….i did loose my mind. blame. the. heat.

BTW….it DIDN’T work. a big bummer for the kids. and on top of that, my littlest got the brilliant idea to start throwing eggs into the street. (i can bet that i’ll be getting a letter from the association about that.)

yep. after reading up on why it didn’t work, apparently the eggs needed to be cracked on a metal surface like the hood of a car since they cool down the sidewalk at first. yeah…NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. i like the paint on my car.

during the rest of the heat wave i stayed indoors with my littlest while the big boys were at school. they didn’t get to go outside for recess during these hot days (bless their teachers) because of the heat risk. and the little guy and i played LEGOS.

yeah. LEGOS. all. day. long.

we spent almost a whole day looking for a mini chainsaw….the GOLD one. NOT the GREY one. in this pile of no less than a gazillion lego pieces.

we never found the chainsaw. but when the older boys came home, they found it in 3.5 seconds. a whole day wasted! but at least i didn’t have to go outside into the oven….that is until….

the boys had swim team. but, how bad could it be sitting by the pool for an hour watching the boys swim? i thought.

it WAS bad. i felt myself start to wilt…sweat, yes sweat was dripping out of my ELBOW pits! (what do you call that body part anyways?) i felt nauseous and terribly exhausted.

hot weather was really taking a toll on me. as we drove home, i decided that NO, i wasn’t going to cook. we were going to have dinner at Yogurtland. yep…MOTHER OF THE YEAR here!

the boys didn’t mind at all. of course they didn’t. and the husband….he just knew a happy wife was his best bet. so we all had Yogurtland for dinner. man it was good. and cold!

i did however, feel kind of bad when the kids started telling me they were hungry around bedtime. thank goodness for toast and OJ.

on wednesday it finally cooled down a little.

101º felt “wonderful” compared to 108º and i decided i would keep my promised to the boys to head over to Disneyland and check out the new Halloween Time decorations since it was a minimum day. i didn’t feel the best…kind of deflated from the heat, but hoped the park wouldn’t be very crowded due to the heat and we would get to go on more rides.

i guess the heat had already gotten to me, because while driving, and waiting to make a left-hand turn into the Disneyland parking area, i somehow missed the light.

i don’t know why i missed it…perhaps i wouldn’t have made it anyways, but the man in the car behind me was super angry. way more angry than he should have gotten. after all, it was just a traffic light. an accident on my part. i didn’t mean to miss it, but he proceeded to honk over and over and scream the “F” word repeatedly until our light turned green again, which took foreverrrrrrrrrrr.

“what’s he yelling at us mommy?”

geez. at this point i was ready to go home. what is it with the heat that makes everyone including myself grumpy.

luckily…we had a fabulous time at Disneyland. so much fun that i almost forgot how terrible the heatwave was.