This week marks my 10 year anniversary in Indianapolis. There are lots of funny stories, amazing memories, embarrassing moments, and experiences for which I am grateful there are no photos. A lot happens as you grow up from your mid-twenties into your mid-thirties...a high level Top Ten overview seems appropriate.
10. ...years in Indy!
9. Number of pedicure…
StepMolly
As someone who puts a lot of pressure on herself to do everything just right, you can imagine what the holidays look like--an unreasonable level of pressure for perfection. But I love Christmas, so it is a fun thing to do do usually.
When you have stepkids, rotating holidays in the custody schedule, in-laws, your own…
Last night, Yoseph asked ever so sweetly for a bedtime story. Eager to accommodate, I asked him which book he wanted. He chose this.
Let me know if you come across the Norman Rockwell painting of a stepmom's cuddly bedtime moment that includes the words Sith Lord, cyborg, nemesis, and Count Dooku. I'll want to frame that one.
Tonight's StepMolly parenting moment began as any standard pre-bedtime threat might.
"Yoseph, please pick up all of these toys. If there are any left on the floor after you go to bed, I'm going to put them in the trash."
"Okay!"
[frenzied activity, followed by a suspicious pause, and then a thump]
He then calls out, "I'm going to leave…
One of the hardest StepMolly transitions is reconciling the definition of "clean" when you live alone with the definition of "clean" when you live with a man and two children. They are very, very different. I like to think we're arriving at the happy middleground (read: I'm trying to be less obsessive and they're responding well…
Today's StepMolly story comes to you courtesy of my husband. I was laughing this week as I remembered some parenting wisdom he shared this summer. We attended an Indianapolis Indians game (a FANTASTIC family activity) and as we walked to our seats, the kids were enthralled by the sights and sounds...and of course, the food vendors.
We regulate the…
Becoming a stepmom to a 5 and 7 year old meant that I missed some of the most memorable milestones--first step, first words, potty training, etc. But I'm learning that there are other unexpected milestones along this path of child-raising.
I truly enjoy fixing Ana's hair each morning before school. But one day she asked if she…
When you live alone for as many years as I did, you learn to hook your own bracelets, zip your own dress, determine for yourself if something matches, the skirt fits, or if your hair looks okay. There's no one around to ask, so you make your own determination.
When I walked into the kitchen Friday morning, the kids…
Yesterday we were prepping the kids for a dinner at the home of some friends.
Tim: "They have a little girl, but she's younger than you."
Yoseph: "Uh-huh."
Tim: "They have a little boy, too. He's your age."
Yoseph: "Okay. But do they have a stepmom?"
Tim: "Um, no. No stepmom."
Yoseph, proudly: "Well, I do! I have a StepMolly!"
Yoseph can really push…
This morning, we exchanged valentines with the kids since we don't have them this weekend. They were also excited to open valentines they received in the mail from Mimi and Poppy (my parents). As I unsuccessfully tried to use my phone to record the kids in a thank you video, I commented, "I'm not very…
