Pop, Tart and Frosting

Okay – Pop, Tart and Frosting….

Monkey, Bear, Gabbiano….

Cheeky Monkey, Little Bear, Tug Boat…

What on earth am I going on about – have I suddenly developed a condition?!

Nope, I give nicknames to my kiddos, little love names that are silly and full of embarrassment for my kiddos. Hehe –

The latest nicknames are Pop – 18 year old about to graduate, heart of gold, Tart – 14 year old who thinks he should be, wise beyond his years and stronger than he knows, inside and out, Frosting – 4 year old who is the…yes, I know…the frosting, the finale of the family!

Short post, but since I will be frequently referring to them in code. (We always strive to protect the innocent of Vanilla Mama’s ranting….of course the fact that some of you know me personally won’t help them any – evil laugh ensuing!)

Meaning behind the names…Pop, Tart and Frosting – just silly!! They laugh and get it, private inside joke…we call their friends the filling or the fruit! But, if you ever hear a crazy looking woman say, “Pop – Tart!” in a weird sing-song voice, it may be me!

The only other one love name I will explain is Gabbiano  - That is Italian for SEAGULL! For you parents out there….please flashback to “Finding Nemo”…..”Mine, Mine, Mine!” That is my little man (another nickname for him!) at the age of 2! Everything was, “Mine, Mine, Mine!”

I promise that soon I will have my next Fortune Cookie post, it is stewing in my Hot and Sour brain and I am liking it.

I have a huge commitment that I am making soon – perhaps one that not everyone will approve of or understand, but I have been thinking about it now for literally years. I am not sure if I will share pictures of it or not, but it is my Willow Tree. So, I will be talking about that soon and explaining that as well.

One of the wonderful blogs that I read put out a challenge tonight about why and how we write and do what we do…I was close to just going to bed tonight having commented on her blog (http://parentingbydummies.com/) – but decided that I wanted to address it here as well.

Why-3 kids, 2 jobs, 1 hubby and an overwhelming desire to put something out there on “pen and paper.” I have always been driven to write. I have a book, a ½ book – someday it will be written - , short stories, ideas for at least 2-3 more books, poems, posts….the words inside me want to come out and find a place. Whether it will just be something that my children groan about now, or remember when they place me in my grave, it will be written.

How – any spare moment, any extra time, any napkin or scrap of paper that is idle while my brain is not. Anytime that I can spend reading books, blogs, articles I try to do it. I am constantly inspired by the women and men I meet on here in blog world, who put their lives out there. I hid a little behind my moniker, Vanilla Mama, but I know that in all honesty, if you want to find out who I am you will. I really don’t have anything to hide. I am who I am…I am the person I am because of what I have been through and the people that I love form my heart and touch my soul. And – probably more than you will ever know.

Live, Laugh, Love ~

Vanilla Mama

BTW - the YUMMY looking picture comes from - http://ediblecrafts.craftgossip.com/diy-pop-tarts/2009/04/26/! Check it out!