Don’t we all smile sometimes when we’re screaming inside? We want everyone to believe we know what we are doing and everything is fine. Just fine. Right? Me too. But not here. This site is my escape. My place to be myself.
Smiling Mom, the woman:
I am straight forward, down to earth, and willing to tell it like it is. Since turning thirty, I’ve taken an interest in bettering myself. In Feb. 2007 I began blogging to keep my mind fresh and to connect with other moms.
I have a few friends, many acquaintances, and some who, well… just dislike me. I am who I am. If you ask me a question, I’m inclined to tell you the truth. If I ask, “Does my butt look big in this?” I actually want to know the answer. If I want you to give me a compliment, I’ll usually say, “OK, I’m asking for a compliment here.…”
I like to know what is ahead. I’m usually a team player and I’m honest. I don’t have a ton of social graces, although I’m learning. I don’t like to be extra polite and I don’t love small talk because I feel fake when doing it. But I’m trying.…
I’m proud of the family my husband and I’ve created. We are not perfect. We disagree and debate with the best of them. But as the years go on, we continue to learn how to negotiate, discuss, and come to a reasonable solutions to our problems. We are a good team.
You should know that I’m madly in love with my hero of a husband. Each day he stands up for what he believes in, for your and my freedom. He is also so intelligent and an amazing leader. But what strikes me as his best quality is his compassion for others. He’s a co-founder of a foundation to help kids with cancer. He donates his time to help others less fortunate than us, and he never feels like he’s done enough. In all meanings of the word, he’s is a giver. I really lucked out when I became his RA in the college dorms!
Smiling Mom, the teacher:
I’m a kick-ass second and third grade teacher. Right now I work two days a week and have a team partner who teaches the other three. She is also an amazing teacher, so together the kids really get a great education. I’m a pretty good math teacher, and a decent Language Arts and Science teacher, but my strengths lay in developing social skills and independence. I don’t baby the kids, and hold them accountable for their actions. And I love them while I do it.
I’m never, ever above making a fool of myself for the sake of teachable moment. There are some learning activities that make me ‘dance’. Let me explain. An example of this is when I teach the wonderfully complicated skill of rounding, ex. 35 rounds to 40, I teach them a chant, “Zero to four-you get no more, Five to nine-move up one time.” I dance.
Let’s just say that my students are the only ones who ever see me dance. Oh except for that one time when two principals walked into my class while I was deep into my Elaine, from Seinfeld, dance moves. Ahem… there was that one time. But never again. I dance for my students and my students alone!
Smiling Mom, the mom:
Being a mom is my biggest joy, and my hardest challenge.
I’m pretty honest with my experiences. If I was asked about any of the following topics, I’d have to say:
My kids did not sleep throughout the night for the first year of their lives.
I routinely wear gloves when I change diapers because I think poop is disgusting.
I’ll tell you that it many, many days to bond with my son, BC, who was my first child.
And it took even longer to bond with my daughter, eClaire, my second.
I’ll tell you the truth. Moms often say smile and say that everything is just fine. But if you are a blogging mom, then you’re probably in the ranks with me. We know the truth! We smile in public, then sit down at our computers and blog.
BC
My son is brilliant. I know, I know all moms say that, but I’m pretty sure it’s true. (Which is also something all mom’s say.) And it scares me. At two and a half my dad played a game with BC, Who’s Missing. He’d quickly name six of the seven people in the house, and ask, Who’s Missing? BC would instantly replied with the right answer. Repetitively. Each time my dad asked, the names were mixed up and a different person was left out. He got it every time. This is just one example of his powerful mind.
Oh, and he gets many, many time outs. 
He has quite an independent streak and doesn’t like to be told what to do!
eClaire
My daughter, is amazing. Aside from being bright, she is beautiful and funny. I tend to call her my sky-diver. She will be the child who drags dear Smiling Mom out of a plane someday. She’s shy in social situations until she feels comfortable. But she’s adventurous. She began crawling up ladders at the playground before she could walk. She loves to jump off of chairs, because of course, someone will catch her! She loves her mom. But she goes absolutely ape over her daddy. Having a daughter is good, so good.
But… she snores like a trucker and whines uncontrollably when I refuse to hold her. Grr.
So there you have it. Me, in a nutshell.