Peeping Mom

I’ll come right out and say that in the past I have never really been a person to follow blogs & read them regularly.   Before that statement starts not making sense, since, in-fact, you are reading my new blog, I’ll say that lately through my Twitter interactions, I’ve come across a number of GREAT blogs that are so intriguing & compelling that they’ve become like a good novel to me. I can’t put it down. Like any good page turning book, a great blog sometimes becomes this thing that you just. Can’t. Stop. Reading. Each new post is like a chapter I can’t wait to dive in to, race to the end to find out what happens next in the story. I only wish I could write something like that. I love writing, I love current events and hot topics, and I love connecting with people and talking about my kids.. The next step, (to start blogging that all together), just seems like something that makes sense to me.

Reading someone’s blog is almost a guilty pleasure for me. It makes me feel like a stalker in a way. Maybe not a stalker, but more like a Peeping Tom. I mean, the blogger obviously wants people to read their words & follow their story. That’s the whole point. But still, reading a personal blog makes me feel as if I’m sneaking into their bedroom when they’re out of the house and reading their diary. I feel like I have to keep looking up towards the door to make sure they’re not going to walk in at any second and catch me stealing their innermost secrets. When I’m done, I’ll just close the book, turn the lock and place it carefully in the drawer exactly the way it was. Maybe that makes me a Peeping Mom?

So since you are here to peep into my online, public, not so secret diary, I’ll give you a little peek into what my life is like. My real name is Andrea, I also go by the Twitter name, @Mango1531. Mango was a nickname I used when I went to girl scout camp about a million years ago (really like 16 or so) & now it seems to follow me on all my online stuff. I’m 30 years old, nearing 31. Oh gosh, tell me that’s not old?! I’m married to a great man, Mr. T., that I try not to take for granted. You know how it is though, even a great man can his annoy his wife. Especially if said wife is stuck at home all day with their 3 charming children, and he just called me to ask if our youngest was born on the 20^th or 21^st.  Really?!  Oh yeah and he’s stuck at work and won’t be home for dinner either.   He is nothing like the T.V. personality, Mr. T. actually, so don’t picture that.. but he has a professional career and life, and I’m not about to blab too much about him right now. We have 2 boys & 1 girl in-between, Big Bubs, Little Boo & Little Babe, ages 5, 3 & 1 respectively.

Upon diving into Twitter & now the blogging world I’ve thought about talking about my kids online and if this is such a good idea or not. There’s the notion, right or wrong, that it will welcome stalkers or pedophiles into our world. Maybe a bit extreme, and I’ve never actually heard of that happening.. But should I be publishing pictures or my location and my kids names for the world to know? Honestly I’m not even sure the answer, but as I dive into this blogging world, I’m going to play it by ear and find out. I’ve mainly wondered in this connected world we live in, should I be giving my kids such an enormous online presence before they’ve even graduated from Playschool Disney or Nick Jr. and moved onto making an online life for themselves by themselves. So far I’ve never mentioned my kids names on Twitter and have only posted a couple pictures.. I’m taking baby steps. I love social media with a capital “L,” but I’ve also always been grateful that Facebook didn’t exist when I was in high school, because I’m sure it would have gotten me in a lot of trouble. It’s not even like I was a trouble maker, per say, but when I was in my youth I’m sure glad that whatever I was doing was being kept in a secret diary locked in the drawer and pictures stayed in albums, and not online. I didn’t join Facebook until I was a mom, so there’s no drunk dancing (or worse) pictures of me online. We didn’t even have digital camera’s or smart phones in High school so I’m safe that not too much is going to be dug up from my past. I do feel like it’s my responsibility to keep my kids information at least somewhat private so at they can make their own decisions about their online presence and decide for themselves if they want to look like a fool for the world to see. So with that being said, I’m not going to publish their real names or the location of their school. I will post other stuff though, and it looks like we’ll see what that is when we get there.

I will say that I live in a medium size city in New York State and send my kids to a public city school in a district that has a major budget deficit, which makes the whole schooling situation a bit frustrating at times. We own a home on a quiet city street that feels like living in the suburbs. I’m a stay at home mom and have been for almost 6 years. Right now that is my world. I have 3 BA degrees: in History, Sociology and Women’s Studies. I have never officially done anything with my degrees, maybe someday they will come in to play. I feel like at some point in my life I may also go back to college and pick up another degree, maybe something a bit more focused. But I’m not making any plans until I get to that point. I’m sometimes overwhelmed by my stay at home life, but I also wouldn’t have it any other way… I’ll get into more of that in Blogs to come, I am sure.

I welcome all readers and encourage you to leave comments. I love and am always looking for discussion and debating or just even a quick hello. You don’t have to feel like a Peeping Mom or Tom with me! I plan on talking about, but not limiting this blog to discussions and observations on my journey in mothering as well as hot topics and current events, and how that all pertains to me as a mom and how it effects my kids. I am always trying to look into different perspectives in life. The idea of thinking about the other side of things intrigues me so much , oddly, or maybe not so oddly, even with those or especially with those that I don’t agree with. I think we can learn something from every one and need to find compassion for everyone.

So I know this isn’t quite a page turner yet, but I’m working on that. I’ll also try to work on my run on sentences. Thanks for making it to the end. Since all good books carry some suspense.. Tune in to my next blog post to find out what the heck Pancakes have to do with anything here.