This isn't your everyday, average mommy blog...this is Mama's House!

Mama's Secret

2012-01-16T00:25:00.000-06:00

This weekend the kids are away at the grandparents’. Matt’s about to head out to cut grass across town, his second job that’s helping keep us afloat right now. I’m sitting here gripping my cup of coffee this morning, almost giddy with anticipation. I’m trying to play it cool, but I think he knows.

He’s caught me once before. It’s kind of my dirty little secret. I’ll admit, I’m hooked. I look forward to it like a junkie looking toward his next hit. I can’t help it, it’s like it’s ingrained in me. I usually keep it confined to the bathroom, the sanctity of a locked door separating me from the world. But now, with both he and the kids away, I’ll have the whole house to myself, and the expectancy of what’s about to unfurl is almost more than I can bear. As he walks out the door my body starts to tingle. The time has come. The moment is here, when finally . . .

I can dance.

I love to dance. Always have. For as long as I can remember, the beat has been as much a part of me as the lifeblood that flows through my veins. But the cruel march of time has not left this passion untouched. I’ve noticed a steep decline in the social acceptance of dancing. At least, the type of dancing that drives me. I’m not talking about a ballroom waltz or even one of those sexy salsa numbers. No, I’m talking booty-shaking, hip wagging throwdown. The kind of dancing that throws my heart rate into overdrive, stretches muscles that I’ve long forgotten I have, and threatens to affect the way I walk for the next couple of days. I live for it.

My twenty-something days were full of this type of dancing. But somehow, somewhere between twenty-five and thirty-five, this type of dancing fell out of fashion among the crowd. Not helping matters is the fact that the kids are now reduced to horrific stares whenever I so much as bounce my shoulders to the beat.

Nowhere was this more apparent than at my brother’s wedding reception last spring. I tried to contain myself, but with the right beat and a little bit of liquor, well, the urge was just too strong. I still worry that I’ve scarred the children.

So now, I enter the bathroom every Saturday morning, cleaning supplies in hand, and lock the door, my passion unfolding among countertop wiping and toilet scrubbing.

I don’t remember when I first discovered the sanctuary of the bathroom. Probably around the same time I discovered the magical transforming power of a 90’s pop internet radio station and my iPhone’s earbuds. Every week I pop them in, lock the bathroom door, and imagine I’m in the strobe-lit dance club. Consequently, cleaning the bathroom takes much longer than necessary, but that actually kind of works in my favor. No one dares interrupt for fear that they’ll be made to finish the job.

I once made the mistake of letting myself go in the much less secure area of the bedroom. The earbuds were in, the vacuum was on, and well, I just couldn’t help myself. I closed my eyes and instantly I was no longer just cleaning my bedroom, I was the feature dancer in an exotic dance show. With my eyes shut tight, I never heard the door as it opened.

My eyes flew open at the tap on my shoulder.

“What are you doing?” my husband asked.

“Oh, uh, just vacuuming,” I said, acting as though pole dancing around a vacuum cleaner were the most natural thing in the world.

He nodded and backed out of the room very slowly before easing the door shut. I sighed and shook my head. Like so many things exclusive to womanhood, he could never understand.

But today, he’s gone, the kids are gone, and the entire house is my dance floor. As soon as his truck leaves the driveway, my earbuds are in, the familiar tunes rattling my eardrums in a way I now know threatens to deafen me in another ten years. But I don’t care. There’s no yesterday, no tomorrow, only right now. I’m no longer a mild-mannered mother of three. For the next two hours … I’m a Mom Star.

Sometimes I wonder how long the burning passion to dance will engulf my soul. Will I be the crazy lady down the street who’s always seen dancing, quite embarrassingly, with her walker?

I can only hope that as I age my hips grow to withstand the stress of continued gyration. Because, no matter how old I get, a familiar hook can instantly transport me throughout time to perpetual twenty-somethingness. And despite the increasingly cringe-worthiness of my dancing, I’d never want it any other way.

For all you moms out there who aren’t afraid to break it on down - lock the bathroom door, sing along, and don’t forget to SHAKE IT!

Mommy Superstars

(in the style of Kesha’s We R Who We R)

Tired and dangerous

If you’re one of us then roll with us

Cause we make the children fall in love

When we got the cartoons on and up

And yes, of course we’re there

We’re runnin’ this house like a daycare

And no you don’t wanna mess with us

Got breast milk on my neckalace-us-us

I got bags under my eyes

Spit up stains all down my side

Lookin’ sick and sleep-deprived

So, let’s go – o – o

Let’s go!

Tonight’s gonna be hard, hard, hard, hard, hard hard

How did it go this far, far, far, far, far, far

Stop tearin’ me apart, part, part, part, part, part

We’re mommy superstars

We are who we are

We’re acting like we’re dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb

Our minds completely numb, numb, numb, numb, numb, numb

It isn’t always fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun

We’re mommy superstars

We are who we are

The baby’s throwing up

Who’s got the remote? Well, turn it up

When’d cartoons get so serious?

I think I’m gettin’ delirious

I’m just talkin’ true

I’m tellin’ bout all that we go through

We’re cleaning up poop, cleaning up puke, losing our minds, washing our hands

Hard.

I got bags under my eyes

Spit up stains all down my side

Lookin’ sick and sleep-deprived

So, let’s go – o – o

Let’s go!

Tonight’s gonna be hard, hard, hard, hard, hard hard

How did it go this far, far, far, far, far, far

Stop tearin’ me apart, part, part, part, part, part

We’re mommy superstars

We are who we are

We’re acting like we’re dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb

Our minds completely numb, numb, numb, numb, numb, numb

It isn’t always fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun

We’re mommy superstars

We are who we are

The baby’s throwing up, up, up, up, up, up, up

The two year old’s throwing up, up, up, up, up, up, up

My husband’s throwing up, up, up, up, up, up, up

This whole house is throwing up, up, up, up, up, up, up, up

Tonight’s gonna be hard, hard, hard, hard, hard hard

How did it go this far, far, far, far, far, far

Stop tearin’ me apart, part, part, part, part, part

We’re mommy superstars

We are who we are

We’re acting like we’re dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb

Our minds completely numb, numb, numb, numb, numb, numb

It isn’t always fun, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun

We’re mommy superstars

We are who we are

NO!

Flip Out, a great card game for the young and young at heart!

2011-11-28T22:13:00.000-06:00

Our family recently received a box full of games to toy test, and Flip Out was among the favorites. Take a look at my review of this great little card game at besttoysguide.com!

Besttoysguide.com Toy a Day Giveaway!

2011-11-09T22:12:00.001-06:00

The site I write reviews for, http://www.besttoysguide.com/, is giving away a FREE toy every day, beginning on November 1 and ending on December 20. All you have to do is sign up for their free newsletter, and you're in! What could be easier? And free toys? Who doesn't love free toys? Don't miss out, guys, get there quick!

http://besttoysguide.com/giveaways

Reese Reviews: Wowee Light Strike

2011-10-29T13:03:00.002-05:00

Another great toy that my family and I tested out was the Lightstrike Laser Tag gun made by Wowee. These guns were lots of fun for the boys and I, and we really enjoyed getting to review them. You can read my review HERE at www.besttoysguide.com.

Thanks for reading!

*Reese

A Mama Always Knows...

2011-10-20T22:54:00.000-05:00

My five year old was really on it today. Well, he's "on it" lots of days, but today was especially bad. You know how sometimes you just have those days where everything just bugs you? That was him today. Whiny, picking fights, yelling... you name it, it happened this afternoon. Finally, an hour past bedtime and the seventh time he'd crawled out of bed it hit me what was bothering him. He was in his room crying, and I called him to the den and pulled him into my lap.

"Are you worried about your teacher?"

He nodded and his sweet little shoulders shook with sobs. His kindergarten teacher has been out all week - her dad and step-mother are both sick and have been hospitalized. Finally, after an entire day of pushing it all down, he was able to let it out. He was scared - scared for his teacher's family and scared that she'd never return to school.

Thankfully, this sweet woman is a good friend of mine, and I sent her a text to tell her he was worried about her. She responded immediately and told him she'd be at school tomorrow. With his mind at ease, he was finally able to relax and fall asleep.

Isn't it funny how we adults seem to think that kids don't know or don't care what's going on in the lives of the people they love? Had I not been a friend of this teacher, I'd likely not have even known about her parents' illness and been able to put the pieces together to determine what was bothering my little one. So many times I think my kids aren't aware of the things happening around us, or that they don't worry, but times like tonight serve as powerful reminders that they do observe, they do care, and they do worry about things out of their control, just like the rest of us.

As I rocked my little one to soothe him before taking him back to bed, I said a quiet prayer and thanked God that I was able to figure out what had been eating at him all day. I knew he hadn't been himself, and I was worried that maybe he was getting sick. A mother's intuition is a powerful thing, and nights like tonight I'm sure glad to have it around.

*Reese

Reese Reviews: BopIt! XT

2011-10-19T21:49:00.001-05:00

Among my other writerly pursuits, I am also a toy reviewer! My boys and receive shipments of toys, and they test them out, tell me what they think of them, and I write reviews based on their thoughts and observations. It's a lot of fun, and the kids absolutely love it!

Our first review was for the BopIt! XT. A great product for which I was able to write a great review. If this is a toy you're considering adding to your child's Christmas list, take a look at my review at besttoysguide.com.

http://besttoysguide.com/reviews/bop-it-xt-review

Thanks for reading!

*Reese

Hello, people of the internet!

2011-10-18T21:50:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Mama's House! I've been working on this blog and accompanying website for, no lie, over a month now, so I'm ready to finally put out the welcome mat and say, "Hey, y'all! Come on in!"

I'll take just a minute here and tell you a bit about me. I'm Reese Reed, mother, wife, author, freelance writer, and full-time teacher. I teach second grade and have three boys at home. Yes, I am exhausted.

So far, I've written and published two novellas for adults, Childproofed and Claustrophobic. (They're the images on the side of this blog...go ahead and click!) In addition to these, I've also written a children's book that I'm patiently waiting to hear back from a publisher about. No, I don't run to the mailbox every afternoon and tear it open to see if there's any word from the publisher. Really. Okay, okay, I'm lying. I totally do that.

In addition to these completed projects, I have one partially completed novel, one partially completed memoir, and three partially completed children's books. I'm kind of A.D.D. when it comes to my writing, which is so funny because it's the complete opposite of how I approach every other thing in my life. I guess that's the just the creative side of me. Whatever it is, I hold myself to completing at least one personal project each year. Last year, I wrote a curriculum that's being used in my school's first and second grade classrooms. This year, I'm going for something a bit lighter. Stay tuned!

So, thanks for dropping in! Kick your shoes off, put your feet up, and grab a cup of coffee ... you're always welcome here at Mama's House!!

*Reese