Crazybananas

Last night my gorgeous, talented Little Sis graduated from high school. I can’t remember if I’ve ever mentioned it here, but I became a Big Sister through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City about three and a half years ago. My Little was a freshman at the time, and was part of a prestigious program called the Kauffman Scholars. Kids in the Kauffman program were matched up with a Big that could help and guide them as they transitioned to college. You can learn more about the program here, and you totally should, because it’s amazing.

My Little’s graduation was really touching, if just for the fact that her family was there with me and I felt so included in everything. Her mom and brothers and sisters-in-law and nephews were all in attendance and cheered along with me when her name was called. It was pretty fabulous.

The Superintendent of the Kansas City, Kansas School District gave the commencement address and did a wonderful job. I sat there on those uncomfortable bleachers thinking to myself, “What would I tell a senior in high school on their graduation day? What advice would I give? What they heck have I learned in the past 12 years? Anything? Nothing? Everything?”

And so, without further adieu, is my (fake) commencement address:

Hello Seniors. Today is the last day of your high school career. But it really, truly, is the first day of the rest of your life. High school can be tough. You’re learning how to be “you.” And trust me, you might think you know exactly who you are, but you probably don’t. And you probably won’t for a long time. If high school is the beginning, then you’re just coming up on the middle and you’re no where near the conclusion.

You may have spent the last four years pretty confident in who you are. I know I did. My years in high school were not without pain or loss or heartbreak, but in general, I thought I knew exactly who I was. And in a small way, I did. Twelve years later, my core beliefs are the same. I attribute that to my family, who raised me in a way that I’m proud to continue as I grow. But I think the most important change has been my realization that I have no idea what I’m doing, and that’s OKAY.

It’s okay to feel lost and unsure. I turn 30 this year and I still have no idea what I want to be when I grow up. I have two kids and yet I still look around when they act up and think, “Where is their mother, these kids are insane.” If you feel like you know it all, you’re probably going to be pulled back down to earth very soon. But that’s part of life. Fall down, get up, start again. Rinse and repeat.

Sometimes is not going to be easy. Some days are going to be really, really hard. You’re going to want to sit down and cry or punch something or just quit. But it will get better. Maybe not today or tomorrow or in two years…but eventually, you will look around and think, “Holy shit. This is MY LIFE. And it rules.”

A few other random tidbits of advice for you, from my own personal experiences:

Do what makes you happy, not what you think you should do to make everyone else happy. Explore your creativity. It’s there, even if you doubt it. The friends you think are amazing, really are amazing. The ones you think are a little off? They are batshit insane and you should stay as far away from them as possible. Drink more water. Wear SPF 100+. Try macaroons, you’ll probably love them. If you’re nerdy, don’t worry, the bullying will stop soon and you’ll be a millionaire. If you’re popular and mean, be nicer to the nerdy kids. They might be your boss one day and you don’t want them degrading you in front of the whole staff because you were a douche to them in high school. Don’t worry that you’re too old to watch television shows made for teens, because someday you’ll be thirty and you’ll still be doing it. It’s because you’re awesome.

And really, that’s my whole point. You’re amazing. Awesome. Incredible. I’m so proud of you. What you have accomplished is just beyond wonderful. Enjoy your success. Celebrate yourself. And never forget to keep trying.

I’m a featured curator over at Kirtsy.com today and the topic is Kansas City! I know, right? Hooray for KC! Go check out the slideshow if you haven’t yet. It’s basically a “To Do” list of my favorite places in the city. I’m so excited about KC being shown as a place to be and so honored to have been able to be a part of it.

If you’re here from Kirtsy, hi! Thanks for stopping by. If you want to see more Kansas City posts, click here. To learn all about me (I am sure that’s why you’re here, right? No? OK.) click here.

Welcome to the second edition of Mom Style! Yeah, I’m still sticking with the name…anywho, this is what I wore last Saturday to run my kids all over town. Seriously, dance, birthday parties, the grocery store…you name it, I was probably there looking stressed out. But my outfit was cute!

Are you guys loving the chambray trend? I swear, I never thought these shirts would come back in to fashion, but I’m so glad they have! Not only are they comfortable, and work in all kinds of weather, they are great for mama’s getting their nursing on. I have a lot of trouble these days finding shirts that are flattering to my post-two-babes middle section…yes, I am talking about the dreaded mama muffin top. And a chambray is super stylish AND it hides the offending hip flubber (I don’t like calling myself fat, or using other “fat” words, so I am now using “flubber” because it makes me laugh and realize how silly I am to worry about a little junk in my trunk. Flubber 4 Life!).

The yellow jeans are post baby and via Anthro, but I actually saw them in the store the other day, so they must be back for this season. I know colorful pants can be scary, but I feel like these are a soft enough shade, you won’t need sunglasses to wear them.

My sandals are my current favorites, Saltwater Sandals via Madewell. I bought a pair for Lucy and loved them so much I got some for myself. She calls us shoe twins, which is adorable and fleeting, since in a few years she won’t want to wear matching shoes with her mama. Carpe diem! Seize the shoes!

The sunnies are via some gas station in Kansas and I lost them today. Boo. The cute cocktail ring you can’t really see is via H&M, and I promise to get a close up of it one of these days.

This year on Mother’s Day I told my family all I wanted to do was hang out with them. They were skeptical (even they know their reputation as first class trouble makers), but it really was true. With our work schedules and extra curricular activities, we hardly ever get time to just hang out as a family, and I wanted to make sure my Mother’s Day was full of that.

We started out the day with a Mother’s Day brunch at Urban Table which was AH-MAY-ZING. Everyone left stuffed and happy. Trent had never been and I think he’s now a fan for life. Lucy had banana french toast with chocolate syrup, so it’s safe to say it’s now her favorite place to eat. Tate had the french toast and bacon…and while much of it ended up on the floor, he seemed satisfied as well. Myself? I had half of Trent’s eggs benedict and half a frittata…plus deviled eggs with salmon for the first course. And a bellini. And a chocolate tort. Don’t judge me, it was Mother’s Day.

After a drive through some of the wealthier KC neighborhoods where we grabbed for sale flyers and made plans to buy certain homes in approximately 1 million years, we headed down to Loose Park, one of my favorite places in the city. We played on the playground, visited the Rose Garden (where Trent proposed for the third time many years ago), and hung out at the duck pond.

My one beef with this place is that all these people (tourists?) bring bread to feed the ducks and enormous fish that reside in the pond. Which, I mean, is not only gross, but super annoying. There are signs posted everywhere telling people not to feed the ducks, and there is a reason!

We watched one family totally get attacked by a flock of geese trying to grab their loaf of bread. Everyone who was trying to feed the animals ended up with an unruly hoard of quacking and honking beasts lunging at them. By the end of our visit, Lucy was officially terrified of geese. Which sucks.

After Loose Park, we ended up at the Country Club Plaza for some shopping (strangely, I didn’t end up buying anything, but everyone else scored big time) and a late lunch. A fun surprise was the nice lady who walked up to me and handed me a flower saying “Happy Mother’s Day from the Plaza!” Nice touch, Plaza. I heart you.

After our long day, we headed home for naps. All in all, a pretty great day for this mama.