A Mom's Perspective on Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin

Governor of Alaska

Wife of 20 years

Mother 0f 5 (the youngest being 5 months old)

Republican Vice-Presidential nominee of the United States

WOW!

My first reaction- "What in the world is he doing picking a woman .....with 5 kids... no "real" experience... the youngest is a newborn??.... what kind of mom would......well, McCain can kiss being President good-bye.... "

I have been intrigued though. Because we choose to keep our cable disconnected I didn't see McCain's "Live"announcement, so I decided to watch it online. Quite frankly, I wanted to watch Mrs. Palin, listen also, but watch her actions, interactions, her husband, her kids, their eyes. As I listened to McCain I found myself wondering "What is Mrs. Palin doing behind the scenes?" Is she in one room practicing while her family anxiously waits in another? Is she watching McCain backstage, holding/feeding her baby? Is the baby fussy, she stressed and screaming "Someone else deal with this?" Those are just a few of the possible scenarios. I think I would have been in the restroom dealing with nerves! Then McCain finally announces her and she comes out.

Mrs. Palin leads the way with her family slowly coming behind her. I can only imagine what her teen-age girls were thinking. Then I notice the oldest holding the baby- what a pro! Her youngest daughter, Piper, was so sweet. She stayed on her mommy's heels. She smiled so sweetly at the crowd. You could tell that she was so proud that they were clapping for her mommy. What an awesome experience for all of them. Then I started to feel sorry for this little girl. I started to watch Mrs. Palin differently. I thought she's not even acknowlodging her daughter. Piper is following her and she isn't even making contact with her youngest daughter. Not a physical touch, nothing. Minutes (maybe seconds) go by. Where are the motherly instincts????

As Mrs. Palin approached the podium, she felt little Piper at her side. She turned away from the crowd, bent down and gave Piper a little hug and a kiss on the cheek. Aha, her motherly instincts. Joy filled her daughters face. Immediately after that, Mrs. Palin turns and does it. She already knew where Piper was and that she was okay. But she would not be able to start her speech until she completed it. I am talking about the mommy mental checklist. We all do it- in the store, at church, or at the playground. We locate our children and make sure they are all okay. Mrs. Palin did that. She turned and finished the mommy head-count. She saw that her other 3 children were close-by and happy. I am sure that in that second she was so proud and confident of her oldest daughter's ability to help out. Peace of mind. A family unit working together. Supportive.

Some will argue that as a mother, of a newborn especially, she shouldn't be accepting this position. I totally get that arguement- I already felt it, trust me. But she gets the choice, just like every mommy does. And even though I choose not to work right now, I KNOW that "Working" mommies are very good mommies too. I saw one of the things that I wanted from Mrs. Palin. I saw that her motherly instincts existed, and I saw that she was just like me when it came to the peace of mind one gets from knowing where her "babies" are and how they are doing.

Wow! Something new is finally here! It is short but I have more (that's what happens when you don't blog for over a month). So check back very soon for part 2. I will add the details.

Lincoln's first half day of Kindergarten

Lincoln's first FULL Day of Kindergarten.

Catherine dressed up as a princess for "Fairy Tale" day at Mother's Day Out.

Catherine "swimming" to Andrea

A fun Saturday with high school friends Susie, Evelyn, Gretchen and Heather.

Roadtrip to Chattanooga's Discovery Museum

Yesterday, the four of us went on a roadtrip with other families from church to Chattanooga. We had a GREAT time!

Digging for dinosaurs was one of Lincoln's favorite. Catherine loved the sand too.
The kids also put on play in the drama area. Catherine was a dancer. Lincoln was too busy performing (or giving orders) to catch him in a picture. Here are 5 of the 8 mommies that went. Our children totaled 18- ages ranging from 12 months to 7 years old. It is a blessing to be surrounded by so many great moms and kids!
Lincoln playing postman in the cool Clifford exhibit.

The Clifford exhibit which ended up being our favorite. Besides a BIG Clifford and many other fun climbing areas, the kids had an equal amount of fun making letters to Clifford (or each other) and mailing them. Catherine told me she wrote a letter to Clifford in "yellow".

Jake and Walden are 2 of Lincoln's best buddies.
Catherine and Coleman's first cruise in a convertible.
Catherine and Coleman had fun in the area for 4 year olds and under. It was nice that there was an area that "fenced" them in. It was also nice to be able to send Lincoln to another more age-appropraite area with our friends and not have to worry about him.
Lincoln in a dinosaur costume.
Will (red shirt) and Coleman. Thankfully, Coleman didn't dump water on him.

We were gone ALL day and the moms were exhausted (as were the babies)! But the fun, smiles, and time together was great. All of my kids slept past 8 am today so let's go everyday- ha!!

My kids make me laugh!

After lunch I was giving Catherine a hug with our faces touching cheek to cheek and facing the same direction. She says "I smells something." I know she is referring to my after-lunch breath, but after a moment she exclaims "I smell your EYES!" I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Knowing that I laughed at what she said Catherine repeats "I smell your eyes *giggle* I smell your eyes *giggle giggle giggle*. " It was too funny!

Also today, Lincoln woke up starving from his nap. After several healthy snacks and a sucker, he asked yet for another snack. I reminded him that it was close to supper and if he ate any more it might ruin his appetite. He replied "Mom, I thinks I have room for another 115 things to eat." Unfortunately for him, that was not enough to convince me that it was okay for another snack. I did tell him he could have a big glass of water. :)

I did chase Coleman around the laundry room and kitchen today- he was carrying the lint tray from the dryer. I enjoyed chasing him (even if dust was going everywhere) because his little run and chuckle are so cute. The chase did end when he ran into our kitchen chair. He was looking back over his shoulder at me and laughing- I tried to grab him but.... Thankfully, he didn't hit that hard and didn't cry. He was done with the lint tray after that, however.

You know, this morning, Catherine was so whinny. I just knew it was going to be THAT kind of day. But after an outing and playing outside together, lunch and the afternoon have been just peachy and we've even had some bloggable moments. So, it goes to show that you can't judge a day by its first 2 hours. :)