Writer's Block

I can't think of anything to write. Honestly. I am at a loss. We tried to start potty training this week, but it was such a disaster I can't write about it. I just can't. Ever since I started reading Rachel's blog I have wanted to do a list of 100 things about me you might not (want to) know. Don't worry - I won't do all 100 tonight - I'm not sure I can ever come up with 100. But here are the first 20:

1. I am a second degree black belt in tae kwon do.
2. I am an Apple/Mac snob. Seriously. I feel physical discomfort when I have to use Internet Explorer.
3. I have been to a New Kids on the Block concert.
4. I spent New Year's 2004 in Trafalgar Square with the rest of the UK. It was crowded. I did not like it.
5. I have seen Luke Perry's naked butt. I did like it :).
6. I am an only child.
7. I have a completely different set of morals while watching Alabama football. For instance, I can be heard saying things like, "Kill him! Make him bleed!", especially while watching the annual Alabama/Auburn game.
8. I have lived in 4 different states - Alabama, Tennessee, Montana, and Florida.
9. When I was a kid I was in a greased pig race and my parents made me ride in the trunk of the car on the way home because I was so muddy. They kept the lid open, at least.
10. I taught 9th and 10th grade English for 9 years before Ethan was born.
11. I don't have a gall bladder. I was born with one, it just had to be removed.
12. I was born in Alabama, ergo the college football fanaticism, tendency to say things like, "We can't go to Manny's! It'll be covered up!", and my son saying, "dawg" instead of "dog."
13. The day the final Harry Potter book was released, my husband and I sent our son to his aunt's house, bought 2 copies, and spent all day reading. We read so long we got sick, but we finished.
14. When I was 3, I could take apart and assemble an M-16. That's a Marine rifle, for those of you who are not firearm-savvy.
15. I have had the chicken pox twice.
16. I've already mentioned this in a comment on Bryssy's blog, but I eat M&M's in twos by color - brown, then yellow, then orange, red, blue, and I save the green ones for last. This is especially difficult in a movie theater, but I manage.
17. When I was in the 4th grade, I watched Star Wars every day after school. Consequently, I have seen Star Wars over 200 times.
18. I have an irrational fear of clowns.
19. My children were born within 3 days of being exactly 2 years apart. Did someone say "anniversary sex"?
20. By the way, I have a tendency to say inappropriate things.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Who's the Motley-est Mom of All?

It's me - for lots of reasons.

1. I love Motley Crue. Dr. Feelgood was just released sometime around my junior year in high school, and it still makes my list of all-time faves. I can still remember where I was and who told me what they were talking about in track #9, and track #11, "Time for Change", is still one of my all time favorite songs.

2. Based on hair alone, I am the motley-est. My husband, son, and I have just moved to sunny Florida from the Midwest, and my hair has had the hardest time adjusting. Did anyone see the Friend's episode when they went to the Caribbean and Monica's hair kinked into an afro? Well, my hair is kind of like that. One look at my MOPS international photo would prove it, but of course, I am not going to post it.

3. I am flawed and really trying to come to terms with it. I am a perfectionist. I have been a Christian since I was a young child, but for some reason, I never grasped the concept of saved by grace, not works. So, I judge myself regularly on where I miss the mark. If I am stressed, I'll be the first to snap or snarl at my dear and sometimes innocent husband, and almost everyone everywhere knows my son's name. If he doesn't walk up to them and tell them, they figure it out when they hear me yell it as I am chasing after him from 50 yards away. I know our son is God's perfect plan for our family, and he is an awesome and wonderful gift, but I regularly wonder why God didn't give each of us the same amount of energy.

4. The other moms in this group are fantastic - not at all motley. I'm not even sure where the name came from. I met Liz in the first week we moved here. She gave me hope that we had not ruined our lives by making this crazy move. I met Rachel next. I truly believe it was divine intervention that willed me to go to the library that day. Rachel told me about MOPS and lots of other great programs for Alex. Then, she even introduced me to her friends. These girls have been so kind to me and Alex. They have taken us in as family, and they are as great as their blogs. They really do live the way they write. I can't believe God has given me such a wonderful support system in this hot and humid new land.

So, as the motley-est mom of all, I'm not sure what I can bring to the table. It probably won't be tips for teaching your four-year-old manners or even how to walk from place to place instead of running. Maybe I'll just spend my time telling you about how great and wonderful my little boy is - how he is another perfect gift from God that I don't deserve, but more on that to come.

Here it goes....

Hi everyone! First of all, this is like so way cool to be writing something that a bunch of people may read at some point. I don't even journal or anything like that, so this is totally new territory for me. In the future, I hope I sound somewhat intelligent and personable to you.

Well, it's 10:49pm Tuesday night, and everyone is sleeping here except me. I figured this will be the only quiet time I'll have to actually complete a sentence in my head so here I am, but I'm super tired and just want to go to bed too.

I really don't have anything deep to relate to anyone, but just wanted to dip my toe into virtual world.

I read some of the other blogs and love them! So real life, huh.

Until next week...
Good night. Sleep tight everyone.

Mullet Mom - a.k.a. Cindy

Here goes nothing -- my first foray into the world of blogging. My own blog moniker is now Mullet Mom, based on the fact that I am a proud product of the 1980s (the decade of conspicuous consumption) from my once mullet cut hair to my love for 80s music, fashion, and fads. They obviously created the VH1 shows "I Love the 80s" for mullet moms like me.

As a motley mullet mom, I am surrounded by other mothers of preschoolers in our local "clique" that were barely out of the diaper stage themselves when I was dying my hair to look like John Taylor of Duran Duran (and ended up with a skunk stripe) and not so secretly lusting over Adam Ant (I can hear you laughing aloud "young-uns" as my secret is now out). Those days will be a constant source of amusement for my own toddler once she hits her teen years I feel sure. Like my teenaged niece and nephew now I will have to show her what a vinyl record was (yes, I have a huge collection and a turntable to play them on) and what a cassette tape was as by the time my daughter is a teen those will probably be obsolete as well.

I'll also have to sheepishly admit to having attended a number of rock concerts in venues before indoor smoking was banned and how you could get a contact high from the various types of smoke filling the air. That is one thing I don't miss now when I attend the reunion tours of the band I loved as a teen; instead, now that they are largely held in sporting arenas, we have folks sitting down (no standing or dancing allowed it seems) who make frequent trips to buy beer throughout the shows, forcing everyone near them to re-situate themselves as they climb across you to get back to their seats.

But while I may not share similar trips down memory lane with the other motley moms on this blog, I do share a faith in and love for Christ as well as the joy of friendship we share as we learn to parent our preschool children. I was wisely advised by Donna that age is not as relevant as the stage of life you are in. She was so right!!! We share this life stage, and I am proud to be a part of this motley crew.