Things are finally getting back to normal.  The kids are settling into their school routines.  Corey is taking college courses and working.  Roy is back in the thick of things at work, and I’m just trying to keep everything and everyone moving forward.

I thought I would lose it when Corey graduated from high school, but we were just so proud of him that any sadness I had over ‘losing’ him was eclipsed by our pride and the fact that we got to celebrate it with our family.

And I thought I would lose it when we dropped Dean off at preschool for the first time.  I was proud of myself for letting him go with a smile and a hug, but I think I was just tired, because this morning it hit me…all my babies are in school.

Lands’ End was having a great sale on bookbags-25% off AND free standard shipping. Dean wanted a new backpack, something special for him, so I thought, why not?  I ordered it-a small blue backpack with gears and nuts and bolts all over it, it even came with a little orange Ugly Doll.  This was his first backpack, and he couldn’t wait to take it to school and show his friends and his teacher.

I walked into the room Dean shares with Hayden and I gently woke up my two little boys.  They stretched (exactly the same!) and sat up with sleepy eyes.  Their soft, brown hair was sticking up all over and they had indentations on their cheek from their pillows.

“Hi Mommy!” Dean wakes up in a good mood for the most part, Hayden, not so much.

“UGH! I don’t want to get up Mommy!”

I kissed Dean, and went over to Hayden, “I know, honey, but you have school.”

“UGH!  FINE!” Hayden protested, but he threw his covers off and swung his legs over the side of the bed.

Dean just held his arms up to me, and I picked him up and carried him downstairs for breakfast.  The little boys ate, and before I knew it I had to get them dressed.

I still help Dean, but Hayden does his own thing.  Usually that means, looking at what I’ve picked out and then going upstairs to get something different.

“I like school, Mommy!” Dean told me wrapping his little arms around my neck.

I hugged him tightly, “I’m glad!  Mommy got your new bookbag all ready.”

It was lying on the table, and he turned to look at it, “Is my Bat in there?”

I nodded, and he told me he wanted to show his teachers and his friends.  

We went out to the car, and I got the kids all buckled in.  We dropped Hayden off at school, and then went to Dean’s school.

I pulled up to the curb, and turned to tell Dean he could unbuckle his seatbelt, but he was already doing so.  He grabbed his bookbag and put it on.  The Aide came over to open the door, and Dean jumped out of my big van all by himself.

He turned back to me and waved, “Bye Mommy. Love you!" 

Off he went into the gym to meet up with his class. I drove slowly away, and looked in my rearview mirror.  Dean was gone.  No doubt he was already showing his friends, his new backpack.

And I felt the tears pop up-that’s it.  All my boys are in school.  No more babies at home, no more diapers, bottles or babyfood.  No more strollers, or pack and plays.

Hayden reminded me that Dean will be in kindergarten next year.  I remember so clearly meeting Hayden’s kindergarten teacher.  The first time I put him on the bus, and now-he’s in third grade!

I wish, for just a moment, just once I could stop time.  I could halt the progression of my little boys.  I wish I could hold them each just one more time-especially the older three as they are all bigger than I am now.  

I’m excited that the boys are getting older, seeing new things, experiencing new things, but I would be lying if I said I was ok with all the time. I miss the little boys that used to run to us for everything. I miss…feeling needed, I guess.

Don’t get me wrong, I know the boys still need us, in my mind I know that, I just wish someone would tell my heart that.

I want to debunk a few more parenting myths. Well, let me say two parenting myths and one myth about women in genereal.

Myth 1 - You have to spend so much money on kids. Yes, babies need a lot of stuff.  And yes, a lot of it is BS.  You don’t NEED a Boppy.  You don’t NEED a changing table.  You don’t NEED a bunch of cute little baby outfits… BUT, if you want them, buy them!  I have been asked by first time parents what to buy, and I could tell them what in my opinion was the most valuable thing, but the bottom line is… buy what you want!  Now, be realistic.  If you can’t afford it, don’t buy an $800 stroller.  It is going to get trashed, (IF your child uses it) just like a $200 one.  But don’t buy a $20 car seat!  Your child needs the best you can afford in that regards - IMO.  On the other hand, we bought a nice stroller system (Roy put his foot down and said no to the $700 one I pointed out, and I am glad he did!), easy to fold, not too heavy, cool pattern and came with a car seat - but Dean HATED the stroller.  I think we used it three time, and for the most part it was a padded shopping cart.  Knowing Dean was like that, I spent my money instead on a really lovely, comfortable, and easy to use baby carrier.  It wasn’t cheap, but in the end, it was money well spent.  The fancy stroller, not so much.  I breastfed Hayden and Dean for about a year, not everyone does that, but IF you do nurse… get some GOOD nursing bras.  If you bottle feed, do some research and get the best bottles you can afford.  Do you need a bottle warmer? It’s up to you.  Same thing with a wipe warmer… get one if YOU want one.

Truth - What is unnecessary to me, might be a necessity to you.  So, I’ve learned to give my opinion here carefully.  It isn’t MY money being spent, so if you want to buy a beautiful bedding set, go for it! But you really don’t HAVE to spend a fortune.

Myth 2 - You have to save money for college. I would LOVE to be able to send my kids to college and just write a check and call it a day.  But I can’t.  (Ok, maybe community college.)  And instead of beating myself up about it, and trying to save for it, Roy is making sure (and I agree with him) that we are saving for OUR retirement.  The kids have SO many options to pay for college, not so much when it comes to us in our old age.  I can’t go and take out a loan to pay for my golden years, but the kids can for college.  

Truth - You (and the kids) have options for college - lots of them.  You don’t for retirement. Especially these days.

Myth 3 - 30 is OLD! WHY do we, and by we I mean women, buy into this crap?  Sorry, it is ‘crap’ too.  I am almost 38… closer to 40 than I am to 20. Hell, I’m closer to 40 than I am to 35… and you know what?  YEAH ME!  My 20’s weren’t all that.  I had my kids young, and we struggled.  Sure, not everyone did that.  Some people went to college.. .ok, maybe ya partied and had some fun… but you still had to attend class, right?  You still had homework, papers to do, projects.  You still had to worry about getting good grades.  And then you had to worry about getting a job, and then paying the bills.  Maybe you had to worry about paying back a student loan.  You might have been playing the field, so you had to worry about first dates, and hope for a second if that first one went well.  You had to get to know people, and HOPE you liked what you found out.  You had to find you.  Guess what?  At 37… I’m done with all that!  Who said 30 is old?  Seriously, why is turning 30 a big deal?  Seriously, if someone can answer that, I would truly appreciate it, cause I would love to know the answer.  It’s a number. That’s it!  If you approach your 30’s with the mindset that you are old, your best years are behind you, etc… you wont’ enjoy all the wonderful things that come with getting a bit older.  Notice I said OLDER, not old!

Truth - 30 is NOT old.

Angela Bassett rocked as Tina Turner in “What’s Love Got to do With it?.”  She has been married to fellow actor Courtney B Vance for almost 16 years and she is the mother of 7 year old twins.

9) Say No-See, we get conflicting information here.  In recent years, I have read more than one article in parenting magazines saying to NOT say no so much.  Kids need to experience the world, they need to learn to navigate the ins and outs of life, and they can’t do that if Mom/Dad is constantly hovering over them and making all the decisions for them.  We need to give our kids some leeway, give them some slack in the proverbial leash we want to keep on our kids.

What I think we are being told to say “NO!” to is material things.  That cool new toy the kids claim everyone has, the new iPod that will make them the coolest kid on the block, or a car in the driveway on their 16th birthday.

Our kids want instant gratification.  They want something, and they want it now.  This is one thing I have a hard time doing, especially with the two younger boys.  A part of me supposes I am of the mindset that since we can afford it, why not?  And for the most part, depending on the situation, I am fine with that mentality.  As long as they are humble and appreciate what others do for them, what is the harm?

On the other hand, the younger boys are having a tough time understanding all of this.  A little beyblade here, another one there, and all of a sudden I’m getting asked to go to the store on a daily basis.  It isn’t that I have a problem denying the boys, it’s the idea that I have to explain things.  We don’t have the money now, I’m too tired to go to the store, etc, etc.  I’m the mom, if I say no, it means no, and that should be good enough.

So, I’m practicing this-saying “NO!”  It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be, but I think I’m making progress.

This is a sticky situation for me. I have five boys-they are all good kids for the most part, so I like to think I’m doing something right. On the other hand, I only have boys, and I can tell you from experience this past year with our niece we learned first hand that there ARE differences between boys and girls.

Oh, sure a lot of it’s the same. All kids want to know they’re loved, they want attention, they want boundaries set, and they want to eat, but a lot of it was different. For me the big thing was the hair. I’m pretty simple with my own hair, I have boys-three of whom have buzz cuts, and all of a sudden here is this little girl wanting braids and pigtail-ARGH!  I’m a failure in that department. 

Though I do think some of the differences Roy and I noticed had more to do with simply growing up in our house vs not growing up here.

I have a BIG bark-when I get mad the kids get scared, but for the most part my annoyance fizzles out pretty quickly. The boys know that, it took our niece some time to get used to that.

We have a hectic household-five kids, a dad, a mom, three dogs, fish, etc, etc…my niece is an only child.

Environmental issues, if you will.  One would think that I would be ok dishing out advice, and I always have an opinion on things, know doubt about that, but actually giving advice is tough. I know what works for me, I know my kids, my household, but I might not know your’s.

And so I wonder, am I the only one that stresses something to the tune of, “Well, this worked for ME…” just so that I can acknowledge that I understand my way isn’t always the right way?

On another forum that I am active in, a simple question often leads to long conversations about how the original poster is parenting wrong, and yet no real details were given. Nothing specific was said, and yet complete strangers feel the need to dissect and dismember the OP and turn it into a platform for their way of parenting.

I realize that sometimes it’s easier to do that online. You can hide behind your anonymity. The consequences to your ‘advice’ will most likely be nothing more than some harsh words from another poster, most of us can handle that right?

But in 'real life’ our advice can have much more concrete consequences. A friend’s hurt feelings, a spouse’s tears, or depending on what was said, anger.

Nope offering parenting advice is a crap shoot, one that often times isn’t worth the risks-unless a child is in physical, emotional or mental danger-then you have to roll the dice.

I think one of the hard things about parenting is facing the day when your kids realize you aren’t perfect.  You don’t walk on water, you can’t stop speeding trains, you can’t catch bullets with your teeth, and yes, you make mistakes.

With five boys in the house, we have kids at all stages.  Dean is only three and right now, mommy and daddy can do no wrong.  He falls and (most of the time) the one thing he needs is a kiss and hug from mommy or daddy and all is right with the world.  Daddy is a larger than life gamer extraordinaire that can carry him around on his shoulders all day.  Mommy has a soft chest that he can cuddle on, and a few kind words reduces her to mush.  To Dean, we are his world.  Occasionally, he will let others in - his brothers when he is in the mood, he might grace his grandparents with one of his toothy grins, but for the most part it’s all about mommy and daddy.

Hayden has passed this stage, but he is still young enough that he thinks mommy and daddy can solve all his problems.  Usually that means we can drive him to the store and spend money to get him his heart’s desire, but occasionally it’s protecting him from a bully, taking care of a sick tummy, or rushing him to the ER for stitches or X-rays.  But he is also starting to realize that moms and dads aren’t always right.  He likes to point this out when I try to talk to him about Pokemon or Call of Duty, but he has also seen us upset, crying, yelling, screaming, and generally acting like fools.

And then we have the three older boys.  Addi constantly pushes the limit.  The boy will argue with us about anything and everything.  If I let him, he will argue with me about the color of my shirt!  He knows we aren’t perfect, he knows we don’t know everything, and he is at the age where he LOVES catching us doing or saying something wrong.  It’s even better if he thinks he knows the right answer.  What’s tough about this age is there are times when HE is wrong, but will argue until he is blue in the face, and then the few times he is right, we are so annoyed, we don’t want to give in and admit it!  On the other hand, he also knows that.

But what is tough is the older two boys.  They are old enough to have their own minds, to have developed their own code, if you will, of what is and isn’t acceptable.  Sure, sometimes it is a little skewed, but for the most part we respect their feelings.  And when we make a mistake, that makes it that much harder.  They are 15 and almost 17, yes, but they still look up to us.  They still want our advice.  They want us to tell them that, yes, their opinion matters, and it’s ok to follow it.  They want to know that as they make their way in this world, we have their back.  We are their safety zone, and so when I (as I won’t speak for Roy) make a mistake, I feel just a little tarnished in their eyes.

I posted before that I don’t believe my children have to respect me simply because I gave birth to them.  No, we have worked hard to EARN their respect.  I don’t want respect out of fear or obligation.  No, I want my kids to respect us because we have worked to earn that privilege.  And I think Roy and I have.  We expect them to take responsibility for their mistakes, but we make sure they know we still have their backs.  We will also keep them in line when necessary. That’s not to say we won’t let them learn some mistakes the hard way.  But, that’s because we believe in THEM.

And so, when I disappoint them, it hurts all the more.  I am no fool.  I don’t believe I will go through life NOT disappointing my kids.  But there is a difference between, say them being disappointed because I won’t buy them Call of Duty 22 and them being disappointed because I didn’t do something I promised I would.  There is a difference in them being disappointed because they don’t get to go out because they are grounded, and them being disappointed because I took my bad mood out on them.

And yet, one thing that is easier is apologizing.  The boys are forgiving, they are kind kids, and if we take responsibility for our mistakes, they are the first people to let it go and move on with life.

They know that a few days of the month are hard for me, and they do try to make things easier on me.  (No, it isn’t just hard for me hormonally; physically I can be in rough shape as well.) But if i snap at them, the older boys get it.  They understand that mom doesn’t really care if their pen rolled off the table onto the floor.  While the little boys just see that mommy is mad and will cry and carry on, the older boys can point out my attitude.  I will often apologize, and they will hug me, and we move on.  Once in awhile, I am actually offended that they caught me being a hormonal mess and called me on it, and so I tell them to bugger off.  They might shrug and walk away.  Often they will tell Roy I am PMSing, and I fuss about that, but they are old enough to GET IT.

And I think they get it because in the end they know… Mom would do anything for them.  Mom would lay down her life for them, and so they understand that sort of loyalty, that feeling of protecting my babies is stressful, it is a hard role to fill, and they let me slide sometimes.

I try not to give out advice-ok, that’s a lie, I do, but I try to keep it to a minimum when it comes to parenting. Everyone’s different. Every child’s different. 

Hell, we have five boys-all raised in the same house, with the same rules, benefits and advantages. Guess what? Each of them is VERY different. What works for Corey doesn’t work for Joe. And what works for Joe doesn’t necessarily work for Addi, and so on and so on.

But there is one thing I SOOOO want to stress, one thing I REALLY want to get out there, especially for parents that will be looking at colleges here soon.

Be smart about it!

And by that I mean this-talk to your kids. Figure out what they want to do with their lives, encourage them to do some research, to forge their own path, and do NOT forget this.

In this day and age, college NEEDS to be a financial decision too.

It’s awesome that Timmy got into college, but if he’s an average student is going to that private college that costs 60k a year the best thing for him?

Does he show interest in a field where stability is hard to come by? If so, how is he going to make ends meet AND pay off those loans?

When Corey was getting ready to graduate we sat down and talked to him, and that was my concern. I DID NOT want my son to have 200K in debt hanging over his head. I had no concerns about him getting in to a good school. Our son (and yes, Roy and I are VERY proud!) graduated with honors and an Advanced Degree from a good high school. He did excellent on his SAT’s, and we had no doubt he could have his pick of schools, but his passion lied in cooking. We have done some traveling in the past few years, and he adored it. Soaked up the culture, willing to try new things, new cuisine, etc.  So, travel and food?

He has expressed interest in being a chef, in working on a cruise ship for a few years, and surprise, surprise, Roy and I encouraged him to go for it!

Why you ask? Why not encourage our good student to go right to college?

Well, we did. He went to a community college and is getting his Associate’s with NO debt, but we also talked to chef’s, to teachers, we did research, I read books written by the best of the best in the culinary world, and they all said the same thing-experience is more important.

So, why would I encourage my son to waste money on a degree RIGHT NOW, when he is young? He is untethered by a family and the responsibilities that come with it. 

Joe was pretty set, he wanted to join the military, and surprisingly, Corey is considering it as well, though for different reasons.  

In the end, we want our boys to follow their dreams, but we also want them to be smart. We’re in that tax bracket that claims we have XX amount of dollars to give for college, so grants are limited, and yet because we have other children, a mortgage, etc we don’t have 20k laying around.

But most importantly, college needs to be a decision our children make with our guidance. Roy and I told them right up front we can’t drop that kind of money. We’ll help any way we can, we’ll help with paperwork, scholorship applications, etc, but the fact of the matter is saving for our retirement has to be a priority.

SHOULD it ever come down to it, if the boys need to return home due to a job loss, an illness-we need to make sure they have a home to come back to! Simple as that. IF the kids have to, loans can be taken out for college, we can’t take out loans for our retirement.

But back to said loans-We broke it down for our kids in simple numbers. Do you want 200k in loans, or 100k? Well, neither ideally, but four years of loans, versus two years CAN be broken down as simply as that.

I know of one young lady that went to a very good school here in Virginia. She went for one year,and couldn’t’ keep up…she left with no degree, nothing to show for her year at school other than almost 30k in student loans. 

I graduated from high school with one young man, he went to a four year college, got a degree, and couldn’t find a job. He has one, but it isn’t in a field related to that degree, and he’s struggling to pay loans.

Does this happen to everyone? OF COURSE NOT, I’m just saying finances need to be taken into account, they SHOULD be taken into account. And yes, it sucks, maybe it isn’t right, but that’s where our economy is right now.

Following your dreams isn’t always lucrative, I should know, I couldn’t write if Roy didn’t have a good job to support us, as I don’t’ make much money doing it.

Bottom line-there are no easy answers. BUT, if your child shows a real love of say-hair dressing, does she need to go to Yale? Encourage him/her to attend school for what she loves.

If your child has a real gift with automotives, what’s wrong with technical school?

If your child has her heart set on being a teacher, is going to a community college and then transferring such a horrible thing?

With two boys either past or at this point, and another one getting there quicker than we would like (and two more moving up in the ranks) these are all things we looked at, all things we asked ourselves, and talked to the boys about.

We have to get smart about continuing education, and I realize perhaps it’s strange that a parent is talking about this, but sadly I think this is the world we are living in today, and I think as parents it’s our job to think of the things our kids might not.

I was reading thedaddycomplex (VERY funny, btw) and finally figured something out.

I am the most amazing, awesome, totally rockin’ Mom to teenagers in the entire world!

Yep, I said it… now where’s my tiara?

How did I get this title?  Well, it seems that I have it all figured out!  Sure, I get into it with my kids - I am speaking of my two oldest right now.  They are 17 and 16.  We fuss and argue occasionally.  Once in awhile, they REALLY piss me off.  Sometimes, I totally piss them off, but (and here’s the shocker!) I actually like my teens!  And (OMG, get ready for it…) I think they actually, kinda really like Roy and I.

Bull S**T! you say.  No, really!  They really, really like us.

We must not discipline them, you yell.  Well, no, we don’t discipline them a whole lot.

You KNEW it!  (I know that’s what you’re thinking!) We are lazy, lax parents.  Nope, we just have pretty good kids that understand what is and isn’t acceptable in our house, and they rarely cross that line.

OHH… so they’re scared of you guys?  Why, yes, we really are monsters. 

NO, we aren’t!  I’m being sarcastic.  Ok, yeah, I have a temper, and if you piss me off, it can get ugly, but I think (wait for it… wait for it…) our kids respect us.  They know we have their backs.  They know we trust them, but they also know we’ll call them on their crap, and since I used to be full of crap as a teen, they also know that we know all the tricks out there.

So, if you are the parent of a newborn, baby, toddler, kid or tween, I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to “ruin” your teen’s life to parent them right. 

I will be offering my new Parenting a Teen classes on Tumblr in the future.  Stay tuned. ;-)

It is isn’t it?  It isn’t easy, it hard.  For EVERYONE.

No matter what your relationship status-married, single, living together-you will be presented with your own unique set of challenges.  Two parents in the home doesn’t mean you will be worry free.  It doesn’t mean there will always be money to do what the kids want to do, to buy them everything their hearts desire.  It doesn’t’ mean that your child/ren will be perfectly behaved.

Just like being a single parent means you are doomed to wander the earth alone.  It doesn’t automatically mean that your children will be left to raise themselves because you are working 12 jobs.  (I know I’m being glib there)

There was a time when the “Mommy Wars” was all about working moms vs SAHM, now it’s about single parents vs I don’t know….two parents, married couples, living together people…who knows.

I know single parents that have very involved exes/partners.  The parents use their heads and realize that just because the relationship didn’t work out doesn’t mean the kids should suffer, and they find a way to work together. 

I know kids who live with one parent and rarely if ever see the other parent, but the custodial parent learns to deal with things.  They reach out to family, friends, neighbors if need be.  They cultivate relationships with other parents so that their kids can partake in some of the things kids like to do-dance class, sports, or playdates.

I know parents that want to be martyr’s to their kids and everyone that sees them. They complain that they are alone, no one will help them, but they refuse the help of others or worse refuse to let others even know they might need help.

I know married couples in which both parents work.  If there are older kids, they are sometimes asked to pick up some of the slack, and many of these kids do so willingly.

I know married couples in which one parent stays home. Roy and I fall into this category.  Sometimes we have really good days, other days are hard as hell, and I wonder if giving up my job coaching was the right thing to do.  But we make it work.

And THAT is the key phrase-we make it work.  We aren’t perfect, though some days seem pretty darn perfect to me.  A day at the mall with the boys doing some fun shopping, and then lunch at a new restaurant.  Or a day just being at home-the kids running around with friends, and Roy and I taking a moment to relax together. 

Other days are crazy.  Yesterday, Hayden didn’t want to get up and when I told him he had school he proclaimed (for the first, though I am sure not the last time) that:

“I don’t want to go to school!”

“I know, you’re tired.  Go to bed earlier.” I don’t have a lot of sympathy for the kids in the morning, I admit.

Hayden flopped out of bed, “This is why I hate you!”

This isn’t the first time I have heard this, and over the years this horrific declaration hurts less and less.  I know Hayden doesn’t hate me, so I just did my thing.

Then Corey and I got into a beef.  I hate when the kids have to go to school and we are annoyed with one another.

Then my stand mixer broke.  Though, Roy was able to fix it, so YEAH!

Yesterday was crazy, but you deal with it.  It’s what you do.

The point is-whatever your ‘parenting status’ might be, there are ways to deal with it.  Ways to take the pressure off, if you choose not to explore ANY of those options, that’s on you.  Yes, there will be times when we have to break our kids heart, but that’s also part of parenting, and that isn’t exclusive to single parents or working parents. 

I have bad days as a mom, and I vent to Roy or friends, and while it’s nice for them to sympathize with me for a moment, I don’t expect them to enable me to stay in a funk day after day.  I don’t expect them to constantly agree with me that my life sucks. 

The biggest part of being a parent is simply that BEING a parent.  You find a way to make things work, and if you can’t know it isn’t going to work because you exhausted all options, not because you simply don’t want to try.

This is a group over on Facebook.  I admit to looking at some of the tattoos, but one thing really irks me.

The declarations that “just because I have tattoos, doesn’t mean I don’t love my kids.”

Now, I’m not saying it’s never happened, but has ANYONE with a tattoo ever had their parenting skills questioned because they have a tattoo?  I mean in a overly obvious way?

Has a teacher ever said, “Well, you have a tattoo..so obviously you aren’t a good parent, I should probably call child services?”

Has a day care provider, implied that because you have ink you are probably too ignorant to properly change a diaper?

I mean, where do all these declarations come from?

Ok, Yes, I know they come from the parents, that are posting them…but WHY?  What has ever been said to you that makes you think someone finds you iffy because you have tattoos?

Sooo, I make a pact with myself to spend more time giving in to my feelings of restlessness when it comes to writing…and than I don’t write for four day?  Go figure!

It could be because our timeline got moved up.

What timeline you ask?

Well, I’ll tell ya,  Hayden is a Freshman this year, Dean is in fifth grade-so he’ll start middle school next year, and Roy works about 60 miles from home. NOT horrible, until you factor in rush hour traffic.  Sometimes, Roy gets into the office in an hour an a half, sometimes it take twice that-my goal was to move the summer before Hayden’s junior year.  That would give him two years at a new high school, Dean would have two years at the middle school before moving into HS, but my husband is beat.  With the new position he accepted, he’s going in almost daily-and I know it’s hard on him.  So, we’re looking to move in just a few months!

Ugh, I said it out loud

We’ve been here so long, I forgot why I dislike the process.  Getting the house ready, finding a new house…and than there’s THE PURGE.

I decided to start small, something no one could have any say over-my closet.  I listed items on ebay, I put aside items for a yard sale-and felt accomplished until I looked at my closet.  Pretty sure it looks no different.  When did I accumulate so much stuff?  

To be fair, Roy’s side of the closet looks similar.  I tell the man he needs to purge and he gives me two t-shirts-out of the 50 he owns-though he only wears about 10.  He has a t-shirt that he wears constantly (I wash it, he wears it-vicious cycle) that I can see through-I kid you not.  It didn’t start out like that, he just wears it constantly!  To boot-it says Grooveshark (does anyone even remember what that is?) and he got it for free!  Not that there’s anything wrong with promotional swag-I love my pens, but when it’s starting to disintegrate, maybe it’s time to move on?

Now, for my case I realized I have way to many shirts with goofy sayings.  Some I bought for the specific purpose of basketball games-I have a few with sayings, or Hayden’s number, etc.  But most say ridiculous things like, “More Tacos please.”  I’m not sure why I need three shirts that say that-especially when all are just different shades of grey.  

And you’d think when the shirts hold no real sentimental value it would be easy to let go of-apparently, it is not.  You never know when you might find yourself in desperate need of tacos and maybe you’ve lost your voice?  I don’t know…

And let’s not even get in to my legging collection.  Now, in the winter I do wear them-daily for the most part.  I wear tunics and leggings, or a sweater and leggings, etc.  They’re warm and cute-the more colorful the better!  But I’m short, so specific brands fit me best-so why do I have pair after pair that are too big? 

I think there was a time when I bought clothes to make myself happy-I was feeling out of sorts, sad-and when I worked through that-I was left with a packed closet.  And so, THE PURGE commenced.

I truly hope the kitchen isn’t like this-or you’ll find me crying in the shower…