*Memorial Day Weekend*

Memorial Day Weekend! Most people look forward to Memorial Day weekend because it means an extra day off work. I too am one of those people who enjoys the long weekend. However, there is a much bigger reason behind the whole day. Memorial Day is the day we remember the those Americans who gave their lives for our Freedom. Without them we wouldn't have that freedom. I want to thank all the Veterans who serve our country - past, present, and future. Too many people go without remembering the Hero's of our country.

Well our weekend was a good one. We spent time with our family. We started the weekend off by having movie night at our house with Edd. I made dinner and then we watched some movies. First we watched The Little Mermaid 2, then Pocahontas 2, and after Sage went to bed we watched Zack and Miri make a porno. It was hilarious! It was fun just being at home and having dinner and a movie.

Saturday we were going to spend the day at the lake, but Christine got free tickets to the Twins game from her work, so we all went to the Twins game instead. It was Sage's first game and she had so much fun. She of course enjoyed the ice cream, popcorn, and a hot dog too! It was the hottest day of the weekend and we got super lucky and our seats were in the shaded section. I'm not a real big baseball fan, but I enjoyed the game. After the game we headed over to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the UFC fight, but just ended up waiting for an hour and a half and then we walked over to Applebee's. Christine and the kids came over after dinner for cake, which ended up being around 11pm, so we made it a sleepover.

Sunday morning, after our sleepover, we made breakfast. French toast, eggs, and delicious breakfast potatoes for everyone! We spent the rest of the day with Christine and the kids too. We made a trip over to their house and met their new kitten, Peaches. Sage just absolutely loved Peaches. It was also the perfect day to finally fly Sage's dragon kite and have some ice cream. Another fun day and Sage was completely worn out, just as much as I was too.

Monday, the wonderful extra day off work, was spent packing and cleaning. We're moving to a bigger apartment in early July, so we're getting all packed up now. It's nice to have a weekend that is busy and spent with people you love. I spend most weekends wishing I had something to do... so this nice long weekend was the just the weekend I needed. Perfect.

Motherhood

Yesterday I read an article about how moms are so judgmental of each other. I started thinking if I was that way... and I think I might be. I don't want to be and I don't do it on purpose. I guess it's just human nature. I'm going to work on that. Anyways... I brought this up because I don't want to be judged as a mom.

My daughter is two and people say it's not longer terrible two's but it's terrible three's. I beg to differ. Sage, my daughter, has been throwing the worst fits, hitting, yelling, and just generally not listening. Does this have to do with my parenting style or is it just the age? Or maybe she just does it to get attention from mommy and daddy, because she doesn't act out in front of other people, usually. Even when we're at the store, doctors office, or a restaurant and Sage decides to throw a fit, I feel like I can't even discipline her without being judged by everyone that is nosily watching. If I give her a smack on the butt people are going to think I'm hurting my daughter or something. Society today is so hypercritical about disciplining it's ridiculous. You can't even give your child a spanking without someone calling social services or throwing the whole situation out of proportion.

It's pretty tough sometimes. I try not to use spanking as a corrective action. You can't say, "Hey - no hitting" and then spank your kid. I try to give her other forms of discipline. I explain to her that it's not nice to hit and that we need to be nice. I take her hand and rub it on my face to show her to be nice. It seems to work for the most part. Other times my husband and I have tried putting her in her room for time out. It is just a matter of finding what works. I don't really think there is a definite soluntion to child discipline. To each their own.

Now back to what I originally started with - being a judgmental mother. Why is it that when you are a mom and you see another mom doing something (with or to their child) you judge them? Or if you hear something bad happened to a child you just automatically assume the parent is to blame. It's really not fair. I don't want to be judged as a mom, so I shouldn't judge other mom's either. So please don't judge me. Parents put enough stress and pressure on themselves. It is not the easiest thing in the world to have a kid. You are the person responsible for teaching them everything they know. You are the person who forms them and makes them the person they are. It's a very big responsibility. I can't speak for other parents, I can only speak for myself, but I am doing my best! I am doing MY best!

My new favorite quote is from that article I read (link below). "The best gift people can give a mother is to tell her she's doing a good job." Just remember that.

Link to the story I read:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-05-25-mommywars25_CV_N.htm

Who ever thought I'd want to be a writer?

Well this is my first blog and I feel like I got sucked into the abyss that is today's trend, blogging. It's hard to find anything to do these days that is not what everyone else is already doing. I started this blog because I want to write... about what? Anything and everything! I don't want to keep a journal or actually write stuff down in a notebook, I tried that and typing is much easier. So here I am.

I don't know if anyone will actually follow this blog or if it will be interesting to anyone but myself. I just want to be able to express myself and I think this will be fun. A little bit of background about me, in case you don't already know me. My name is Mallori and I am a 22 year old wife and mother of a 2 year old. I live in Minnesota, work a full time job, and am a full time wife and mom. I'm a busy woman.

I think I've always had a bit of a passion to write. In high school English wasn't my favorite subject, but I always loved writing assignments. Growing up I kept a little journal, wrote poems, and little stories, and generally enjoyed writing. This year I began writing what I hope will one day become a book. It's of course still in the beginning stages, but it's all mine, and I enjoy reminiscing while writing it.

I never thought I wanted to be a writer, but the more I write, the more I want to keep writing. I hope that my family and friends might enjoy this blog and be able to stay connected with me since I live so far away from them now.

Well... that was it. My first blog. Stay tuned there is more to come later!