A Tale of Two Children

On September 6, 2016September 6, 2016 By Doser3In Dreaming of Mommyhood - GeneralLeave a comment

In the open spaces of my heart, live two children, each equally loved, but cataclysmically different. They both have the same portion of my love and my soul, each with their own physical traits and characteristics forever linking them to me, but alas I only comprise 50% of their make up, so it’s only natural for them to be so much alike and yet so different.

My oldest is outgoing, loving, methodical, and eager to please. My youngest, not quite so outgoing, a bit more calculating and manipulative, and while he may be a bit standoffish at first, he is quick to love and be loved. They both have my chin, one has my nose, and they both suffer from mom’s recessive gene of fair hair at such a young age. Their personalities are different, at times polar opposites, but they definitely share mom’s dominant stubborn gene.

With the start of school last week, I was eager to see how both of my boys would do and since we were milking our last few days of summer vacation for all of its worth, we missed meet the teacher and student orientation at their school. This meant I would need to walk the boys into their classrooms, since neither had any idea where to go. Also, I’m THAT mom who will walk her children into school the first day, regardless.

For this school year, my husband and I decided it would be best to have Davey attend MWF and Henry on T/Th. I am well aware that this means for me I will be on the road a lot, but it also means for me some individual time with my boys, something I have wanted for quite some time. I must also add this disclaimer…it was technically my husband’s idea for the school year set up, I believe so that I would NOT have any personal time to myself. He deals with “children” himself in the adult world and I suppose felt that since he couldn’t get a break from the adults behaving as children, then neither should I. Just my theory. So, with this being our set up, I felt compelled to leave Henry with my mom and dad on Davey’s first day and then vice versa for Henry’s first day. And here, my friends, is where the Tale of Two Children picks up.

First day of school for Davey goes something like this…

As I am walking Davey into school, he sees he’s old teacher’s assistant. This woman has been a blessing to us, she’s worked with Davey since he was in K2 and I quickly learned she would also have our Henry for this year. Unfortunately, that meant that Davey’s security blanket would be gone, as if he ever really needed one. Once Davey saw her, he stopped in his tracks and turned around to me, “mom, can you believe this? Look who it is! It’s Mrs. Whaling. Oh boy, I bet she’s missed me.” Nope, does not have a humble bone in any corner of his body. After hugging Mrs. Whaling, Davey then proceeds into school, where he sees his old K2 teacher and as if he’s a politician going around shaking hands and kissing babies, he must hug Mrs. Norwood before saying, “I’ll see you around this year, Mrs. Norwood.” Big Man on Campus then proceeds down the hallway where lo and behold there is Mrs. Scott’s classroom. We must stop and hug her as well, and as we are looking for his classroom, Davey says, “I bet Mrs. Scott missed me a lot.” Again…humility? Nope!

Once we find his classroom, I introduce myself to his teacher, apologize profusely for being at the beach instead of meeting her, and then introduce Davey who immediately holds out his hand, shakes her’s and then says, “nice to meet you.” His current teacher gives me the rundown, asks if I would be willing to assist with anything and then as I walk out the door, hug and kiss Davey one more time, I hear, “it’s gonna be a great year, mom, I just know it.” Easy peasy for this mom.

First day of school for Henry goes a little something like this…

I drop Davey off with my mom and dad, calling as I’m around the corner, so she can meet me outside, grab Davey and I can go. I need it to be as painless as possible, especially since I know how attached Henry is to his Mimi (my mom). My hopes were dashed when Henry went into Stage 4 meltdown once he realized that Mimi was taking Davey and not him. His chin began to tremble, the lower lip started protruding and I don’t know who was going to cry first…him or my mother.

For the entire 15 minute ride to school, I had to endure bellows of, “Mimi, don’t leave me.” and “Mimi, save me. I stay with you,” all the while he’s clawing his window as if he’s a caged animal heading off to slaughter. Really, my son, do you think mommy would do that to you??? The thought has crossed my mind of some sort of torture, but nothing like what his mind was developing. Kidding, folks, just kidding!

Once we arrive at school; however, life is grand. Henry sees Mrs. Whaling who is now his TA and life is good again. Now, flash forward a week.

Yesterday being Labor Day, there was no school. So, Davey couldn’t go, but Henry could today. Davey? He’s bummed, but he’ll survive. Henry? Let’s just say that I had to drag him out of the car crying and while not at his stage 4 meltdown, perhaps only at a 2, hand him off to Mrs. Whaling as he cried while being carried in. Davey finds it undignified to be carried inside. Henry? He needs that attention. Of course, once I pick Henry up from school, the world is rainbows and unicorns and has been since the moment he stepped foot into his classroom. I ask him, “would mommy ever steer you wrong?” And with his thumb in his mouth, nods his head and says, “yes.” The child knows me too well.

We’re only one week into school and I can already imagine the scenarios that will play out in the story of A Tale of Two Children.

Down By The Creek

On August 8, 2016 By Doser3In Dreaming of Mommyhood - GeneralLeave a comment

Summer is going by quickly. It didn’t seem that way a month ago. At that point, I purchased a white board so that we could do a countdown to the first day of school. It seemed eons away, but now we’re almost at the 20 day mark, and I’m about to eat crow. I’m a little sad that I technically only have 3 weeks total of summer vacation left. I’m hearing you all say, “I told you so”. Especially those of you who have told me to savor the days as they will be gone soon.

In my effort to soak up the last few days of summer, I’ve taken my boys on some adventures over the past week. We tried a new hiking group, picked blackberries, and most recently spent a cooler morning at Campbell’s Covered Bridge in Northeastern Greenville County.

The kiddos love to run and scream through the bridge.

My original intent was to snap some pics of my kiddos, being the amateur photographer that I am. The bridge is gorgeous and the scenery surrounding it just breathtaking especially in the fall months. It offers a serenity that’s becoming nearly impossible to find in this day and time and even gives me a sense of nostalgia as I grew up playing in the woods and creeks. Speaking of creeks, Beaverdam Creek which runs directly under the bridge was easily the best part of the journey for both of my boys. Thankfully I thought ahead for that scenario and came prepared with towels and a change of clothing.

It’s amazing the things that seem to catch their attention.

There’s something peaceful about a creek, the sounds, the rhythm of the water as it stumbles over all of the rocks in its path. I love a good creek. They’re refreshing , cool and in most cases sparkling. They offer a great way for a quick cool off without a complete soaking unless you’re my two children.

A little exploring before taking off of the shoes.

What started out as throwing sticks and stones into the babbling waters, soon turned into no socks and shoes and a trek through the creek. Davey immediately took off after discarding his socks and shoes, and slipped on the first rock and went right into the water. My heart skipped a beat. Was he hurt? Was he going to start crying? Would he want to leave this beautiful place to go back home to his toys and television? I held my breath as he stood up from the water, his clothes dripping wet, arms stretched out as if was going to take flight, and then he laughed. He threw his head back and laughed a laugh I haven’t heard from him. Henry, usually the more daring of my two children, stayed back and yelled, “be careful, D.”

And there is Davey, sans socks and shoes, enjoying Beaverdam Creek.

Davey kicked and splashed water. He pulled up pebbles and caught some leaves, and even tried to sneak up on a couple of dragonflies cooling themselves in the stiller section of the water. Henry, after slipping once, didn’t seem to want much to do with the water anymore, which disappointed me tremendously. So we found a nice dry rock in the middle of the creek and Henry and I took up residence on it, him sliding over occasionally to sit in the flowing water while Davey went up and down the creek bed.

At home, you can’t get these two to be peaceful with each other. In nature? Well, that’s a different story.

I sat peacefully, a smile upon my face as I watched my two boys, one sitting in the running waters, the other inspecting every inch of the creek, from the various rocks, washed smooth of their jagged edges thanks to years and years of the creek flow, to the flowers that were smiling back at us from alongside the creek. Davey would walk over to the water in one section, as it danced back and forth over rocks while rolling towards him, and with his hands cupped at the bottom, he would fill his hands with water and then throw it into the air. I loved his laughter. I loved his excitement and inquisitive nature. To see the creek through his eyes? Now that would be sight.

Look at those baby feet and that beautiful water.

It became apparent, shortly thereafter that Henry would be best without his clothing and just a diaper which of coursed meant Davey wanted to be free of his clothing as well and run around in his underwear. So, there we were, my two little redneck children and I, skipping around in the waters of Beaverdam Creek in their underwear, reminding me easily of the little things in life that seem to matter most.

We only stayed an hour as a few thunderclouds rolled in, forcing an early evacuation of a place that my boys want to visit every single day now. Yeah, going there added extra effort on to me. We could have gone home, where the boys would have been dry and clean, watched some television and just hung out of for the day OR we could just get ourselves covered in some silt, mud, and wet leaves and a treasury of memories moving forward. I vote for the extra work, especially since it made me feel like a kid again. When was the last time I stuck my toes in a creek?

Not the best lighting as I wasn’t totally prepared for this shot, but still a keeper all the same.

Global Warming and It’s Threat to Me

On August 3, 2016 By Doser3In Dreaming of Mommyhood - GeneralLeave a comment

Let me preface this blog post with the following statement. This is meant to be a satire. Very few scientific or factual theories will be covered under this post. It is not meant to be an attack against any group or to be offensive, so for you eco-friendly, tree hugging, mother earth loving individuals…relax. Go chew on some wood bark but only from a tree that was not destroyed by capitalist pigs in their ongoing effort to stifle our environment.

Global warming. What is? Well, let me give you a basic definition. It is a gradual increase in temperature of the earth’s atmosphere attributed to the greenhouse effects caused by increased levels of pollutants in our air. A lot of scientific mumbo jumbo, with a lot of credible experiments to back it up. Me? Being the Christian I am, I think it’s all part of God’s plan, and this plan is causing serious problems for me, especially in the arena of being a stay at home mom to two boys, with an overly hot summer thereby limiting them to outside usage and increasing my downward spiral into a state of insanity.

This summer has by far been the worst. A few summers ago we dealt with so much rain that we had our own personal riverview in our back yard, an anomaly for someone with no rivers within a five mile radius. Last summer I thought it was hot, but at least we had some rain from time to time to cool us off. This year, as many of you who live in the South are aware, we are desperately lagging in the rain gauge, couple that with days in the upper 90s, a heat index in the 100s, and this mama is about to go code red bonkers.

When I was growing up, my mom just kicked us outside. We played all day long, sometimes at our neighbors’ houses, but mostly in our own backyard. We drank from the spigot or the hose, ran around in our bare feet, and caught lightning bugs well past our bedtime. That was the summer of my youth, but the summer of my boys’ youth? We’re burning gas (damn us for contributing to the greenhouse effect) as we’re on the road to various museums, water parks, and pools. We’re inside because by 9 am it’s already so hot and humid that my children are crying about the heat. Heck, I’m crying about it too. It’s keeping me from having an enjoyable summer.

I can’t just kick my kids outside, thank you very much, global warming, because you have made it nearly impossible for my children to be the same outside kids I was. Some days I feel like we’re living on Mercury, unable to walk outside otherwise we literally melt from the suns radioactive heat. Global warming is literally ruining my children’s summer and my romantic version of being a stay at home mom. I loathe it almost as much as I loathe Hillary Clinton, sometimes I see it as just as dangerous to my livelihood as Hillary. Global warming is forcing my children to be pasty white, much unlike me at their age…golden tanned. Global warming is also turning my boys into pansies. They whine at the least little amount of heat.

I do; however, feel genuinely bad for my boys, or maybe it’s just my mom guilt disguised as empathy. I don’t want to be outside during the day. I get up at 5:30 to run just so I can beat the heat. The pool water isn’t refreshing. We feel like we’re in an oversized communal bath tub, and there’s zero shade. There’s nothing refreshing. I feel bad leaving them in front of a television or with an iPad, but hey, there’s only so much entertainment a mom with a business degree and no original desire to have kids, can offer.

Another threat with global warming…we’re all gaining weight. Why is that? Because once again it’s just too damned hot to be outside. We instead veg out inside watching movies and of course eating snacks. Personally, I don’t need the weight gain.

Global warming is an epidemic of huge proportion. It must be stopped, it must be reversed. Me? I’m too lazy, and it’s much too hot ouside, to really do anything about it other than write this blog post to complain about how much it’s ruining my summer. Global warming has quickly moved up on my list of enemies, Hillary Clinton still being number one.

Oh, global warming, how I would love to slay thee.

Davey Doser At the Bat

On July 25, 2016July 25, 2016 By Doser3In Dreaming of Mommyhood - GeneralLeave a comment

The sun was baking, the bugs were flying, and the breeze was all but existent. We knew it would be tough, we knew it would be long, but we hoped he would make it through, with the resilience of the Doser he is.

Being in the heat for an adult can be brutal, but playing tee ball as a 4 year old, takes exhaustion as well as stamina to whole new levels.

Saturday was our first tee ball game of the season, and it was a double header at that, on quite literally the hottest day of the year. Should I have been surprised, nearly 41 years old and a lifetime living in the South? I wasn’t. As a matter of fact, I thought back to my grueling summer days of band camp, and knew that if I could survive eight hours of that torture, then my flesh and blood, my first born, would be able to survive 2 hours of tee ball.

As the kids slowly trickled in, their parents in tow with chairs, sunscreen, bug spray, cameras, and coolers of drinks (wait maybe that was just me), a little pre game practice began. Just as the game was to start, the water seemed to break, or maybe the kids were just looking for an excuse to avoid the inevitable game, and the entire team trekked inside to the bathroom. Quite the crew they were, and more entertaining for me was seeing my husband as the leader of the group.

Bathroom breaks were over, all teammates were present, and it was time to start some tee ball. As my husband gathered around the teams, he quickly reminded me of one of the many reasons I love him so. Removing his cap, and encouraging the kids to do the same, he went down on bended knee, head lowered and thanked our Lord for the day, the children, and the opportunity to play. And then with an “Amen” he stood up and proclaimed, “let’s play ball.”

So, the thing with tee ball and 4 &5 year olds is that they don’t have much patience for being in the outfield. Waiting on a ball to come their way is excruciating. It’s akin to waiting for that boy or girl who you really have the hots for, to call you. You wait and wait and wait. You hope and pray for that ball to come your way, and much like when the phone rings, when that elusive ball is hit, you immediately jump and run for it. All of the kids run, not just the one who it was hit towards. I watched in amusement as the first ball was hit towards first base and the poor kid in left field nearly ran over all his teammates just to get the ball. They reminded of the seagulls from Finding Nemo, with their shouts of “mine, mine, mine” as they scrambled to be the one to get the ball.

When they’re at bat, it’s a whole other world. Their excitement is intoxicating. Their eagerness to hit the ball as hard as possible and as far as possible inspires even the laziest of us to want to do more. Davey looks like such a big boy until he puts on a batting helmet, and then he’s immediately reduced back to my little baby boy, but he chokes up on the bat, offers himself as a switch hitter (yes he hits left and right), steps into the swing and hits the ball. At times it’s a foul, but he still makes contact.

Tee ball is exciting for me, more so than soccer, maybe not as much as football, but we haven’t gotten there yet. Tee ball represents America. It’s the beginning stages of baseball, America’s pastime, and reminds me of all things warm and like home. I love that Davey wanted to take it back up again this season. I love that he’s learning to hit a ball that’s thrown at him. I love that he gets into his catcher’s stance and has even asked for a big wad of gum to chew.

For the next six weeks, our lives will be inundated with hot summer nights on the baseball field, steamy Saturday mornings at the same place, an overabundance of Gatorade, batting practice, catching stances, and we might even throw in some hotdogs and ice cream. When my little Davey Doser is at the bat or in the field, this mama, as always, is his biggest fan.

he caught it — Celebrating another catch.

With his daddy as coach, he seems to have taken to the game a bit more, or maybe it’s just because he’s a year older with a bit more focus. Who knows!

Getting a high five from Daddy, er Coach Doser.

Hey batter, batter, batter!

Into The Woods We Go

On November 24, 2014 By Doser3In Dreaming of Mommyhood - GeneralLeave a comment

I gotta tell you, I love this time of the year down South. The temperature is perfect. The leaves have changed and are nearly falling. It’s just a wonderful season.

This past weekend, the hubs, kids, and I toured yet another piece of property in our effort to vacate suburbia and move out to create our own little haven. The suburban lifestyle isn’t exactly settling with us like we thought it would. We feel cramped, like we can’t breathe. At times, thanks to our HOA, I feel like we’re constantly under the microscope, being spied upon. And while we don’t have a lot of yard to maintain, I’m stressed about making sure it’s perfectly manicured so as to avoid the unwanted letters and comments. The best way to eliminate all of that is to just buy a bunch of land, build a house, and make a cozy home.

I know a lot of people think we’re nuts. “Why would you want to move further away from work?” and “We won’t be visiting you as often if you move that far away,” are the comments I’ve heard most. My husband’s content with driving a little farther to work, especially if he gets to appreciate the rolling hills and beautiful farmland of God’s country. As for the second comment, I usually respond with, “you don’t exactly come visit us now.”

I grew up in a small neighborhood, in a part of town that wasn’t fully developed yet, of course that’s changed. We had pastures and woods around us, lakes and streams. My brother and I would spend our summers outside until it was literally too dark to see anything. Davey’s the opposite. He tells me it’s boring outside. Well, that could be because there’s nothing to explore in our backyard or in our surroundings.

I have this dream for my boys of having so much land to explore that I don’t see them for hours! I have this romantic idea of them being able to camp whenever they want and far enough away from mom and dad, but still in our backyard. I dream about the boys hunting with their dad and doing so in our backyard! We’d have our own garden. There’d be no 45 year old drunk neighbors driving home at 3 in the morning, or a neighbor’s home improvements commencing at 6 on a Saturday morning. There’d be no snide comments about our garage not being clean and therefore making the rest of the neighborhood look bad. There would only be us and the great outdoors filled with the sounds of God’s many delights.

I can’t wait for this day to come. I’m so intoxicated with the idea that I can’t seem to function. I’m up at night looking at land for sale, contemplating how we can afford it, trying to make lists on what we need to do to our current house, looking at floor plans for potential houses, and pinning ideas on Pinterest.

Saturday’s land tour was magnificent and I really wish we could just write a check and say, “we’ve found our new home”. Davey loved it. There were mud puddles, sticks, leaves, deer tracks, a running stream, the sounds of birds, and the occasional lizard. It was a little boy’s dream (and the dream of mom with little boys)

Adios, Summer 2014

On September 23, 2014September 23, 2014 By Doser3In Dreaming of Mommyhood - GeneralLeave a comment

At 10:29 last night, Fall 2014 officially came into town. Since I’ve been a bit slack this summer with posting photos, adventures, and writing blogs, I thought what better time to give a quick rundown of our summer than with this “Goodbye to summer” and “Hello to Fall” blog!

June 21st, at 6:51 am, was this year’s Summer Solstice…otherwise known as the first official day of Summer! Fortunately, or unfortunately depending upon your view, summer in the Deep South seems to start in mid to late April. We’re hit with hot and humid days, sweltering heat and the occasional thunderstorms that only seem to make breathing worse instead of better. This year was no exception, but we won’t start with when it felt like summer, but instead the actual day. So, without further adieu, here is how we spent our first summer together as a foursome:

Davey got his first official bicycle and began learning to ride. He was a quick learner at it and we ended up taking it every where with us this summer including Mimi & Pop’s who have a much longer driveway to ride it on.

We also took a field trip of sorts to our local free “waterpark” located in beautiful downtown Greenville, SC, outside the Lazy Goat. It’s nothing more than water fountains and spouts all along a fake train track, but Davey thoroughly enjoyed it.

July 4th we were in Rochester, NY visiting family for the week. We enjoyed everything from go kart racing to miniature golf, fireworks to parades, live music to horse races, and even had a cook out complete with our personal bouncy house. Another first was Henry’s plane ride and Davey now officially getting his own seat. We had a love/hate with Davey having his own seat. It was nice to NOT have to hold him, but ridiculous to pay for his seat.

Davey became a more advanced swimmer this year as we spent 3 days a week usually at Mimi and Pop’s house in their pool. Henry was introduced to his first pool experience and while he eventually came to enjoy it, it was a bit of a labor to get him in.

We threw in some zoo trips with friends and adventures at the Children’s Museum before finally getting our opportunity to enjoy the beach in mid August. We visited aquariums and battle ships. We built sand castles and rode the waves on boogie boards. Henry had his first experience with a crashing wave and quickly learned he didn’t like the taste of sand. Davey hunted for seashells and played miniature golf.

We managed to find some time to take Davey to his first movie experience where he saw “Rio 2” and “Planes: Fire and Rescue.” We had amusement park rides and outlet shopping. I found time to participate in 2 triathlons with Davey finishing both of them with me.

Finally, we closed out summer with Davey’s first season of soccer, some apple picking, backyard shenanigans, and 1/2 price ice cream cones.

To Summer 2014, we’d like to say, “thank you for the memories, the adventures, and the heat. You were not a disappointment.”

And to Fall 2014, we’d like to say, “Bring on the pumpkins and leaves, the bonfires with s’mores, college football Saturdays, chili, and the smell of apple pies baking. Can’t wait to see what you have in store for us!”

Dreaming Of Mommyhood

Tag: SUMMER

A Tale of Two Children

Down By The Creek

Global Warming and It’s Threat to Me

Davey Doser At the Bat

Into The Woods We Go

Adios, Summer 2014

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