Claire the Afena Mom Blog

This Saturday, I embarked on an adventure of epic proportions. I woke up, drank a few cups of coffee, my own private liquid courage, and marched out to meet the dragon…I mean, my pre-schooler. We’d laid down the rules of battle the day before, and it was simple. She would ask for things she wanted to do, and I would say “YES”. Playground when it’s raining and 45°F? Yes! Bike ride? Yes! Bubbles, sidewalk chalk, jumping in muddy puddles? Yes, yes, yes!

Finally, it’s starting to warm up! Pretty soon the spring sports season will start, and I’ll be spending a lot of time at the baseball diamond. But even with stubborn piles of snow still refusing to melt away, my little man is determined to head outside. It’s been a long winter, so despite the lingering snow and the mud pit that is currently my front yard, we’ve spent a good portion of the last week enjoying the mild weather, walking up and down our sidewalk, hopping over puddles (or into puddles, if you’re one) and arguing about the purple gazing ball that he is certain is really the BEST and MOST WONDERFUL BOUNCY BALL OF ALL TIME!

This past Monday was the birthday of Theodor Geisel, who most of us know more affectionately as Dr. Seuss. Like many of my peers, I grew up listening to my mom and dad read the Dr. Seuss books. At graduation, I received a copy of “Oh The Places You’ll Go”, and found the rhymes within could teach a girl a lot about living and prospering in today’s world. My kids love Dr. Seuss as well.

Congratulations, Indiana! It’s March! Spring is supposed to officially begin this month, on March 20th, and it can’t come soon enough, let me tell you. After countless board games, fort building contests, and games of hide-and-seek, this mom is ready to go outside and play. That being said, I’ve discovered some things about my home this winter that have surprised me, hidden secrets that I might not have found if we weren’t still huddling inside, so I’ve compiled a list. Here are the things I’ve discovered about my home while hiding from my children during hide-and-seek.

I am not a perfectionist. I had to give up my Type A personality not long into motherhood when the pile of unmated socks in the laundry basket finally defeated my desire for order and structure in all things. But you don’t have to be a perfectionist to get caught up in trying to make something PERFECT. And since perfection is a goal that’s a little too steep for the majority of us, I’ve found that the need to make sure everything is absolutely flawless can often lead to a lot more trouble than it’s worth.

Tax season can mean a couple of things, depending on where you stand with the tax man. For a lot of us, we’ll get a refund, and happily decide where to spend the “unexpected” windfall. For some of us, we end up with a bill, hopefully one that we’ve been expecting and planned for throughout the previous year. I know that when I was younger, tax season always got off to an early start. I’d complete my taxes as soon as possible so I could get that refund deposited into my checking account. And if I didn’t have bills that needed to be caught up (which happened quite a lot in my youth), I’d have plans for updating my wardrobe, or getting something new for the house. And while it was fun to spend the money, it didn’t do much for my financial situation. Luckily, after talking with the staff at Afena, I discovered a way to save money, start repairing my credit, and still get some of those things that I really wanted.

Love is in the air this week around my house. The girls are both excited to pick out Valentine’s goodies to pass out to their classmates, and little man will be bouncing off the walls with the amount of candy he’s already plotting to sneak out of his sister’s school bags. And even if you subscribe to the theory that Valentine’s Day is just another holiday created to make money for florists and greeting card companies, you have to admit it’s something to look forward to in an otherwise cold and unforgiving month.

Despite the fact that our favorite team didn’t make it to the Superbowl this year, we’ll still be settling in for an evening of football this evening. I might not care who wins (and might really be rooting for a team that shall remain nameless to LOSE), but I love the excitement, the commercials, and the halftime show. It’s fun to yell at the officials and snack on party food. I’ve discovered there’s a lot to be learned from football, even if you’re not likely to be throwing touchdowns anytime soon.