She’s pretty and smart, she doesn’t take herself too seriously(Just read about what a KLUDGY MOM is, yes it’s a REAL WORD! )
and yet she’s truly one of the smartest women on the internet.
She is also kind, funny and supportive. I like her very much.
I met Gigi of Kludgy Mom and fell in love with her blog design, then I read her and it was a done deal, I officially thought she was amazing.
She was helpful, informative and entertaining with just the right amount of “sap”.
Plus she puts me to shame with her knowledge of all things TECHY and GEEKY. The woman is just a phenomenon when it comes to giving the news you need about blogging, social media and all things technology related.
She’s got a great smile, she has a huge heart and she never ever makes fun of me when I ask her a truly goofy question. I am just thankful she has an awesome sense of humor.
And she’s a mom. A really great mom who loves who 2 children with her whole heart and wants to raise them to be awesome people. (She is doing a fantastic job as you’ll see from her moment)
SO thank you Gigi, for being here to share your story with us, I’m so honored that you are here in my space today
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**The Moment That Was A Year**
When Kir asked me to share my proud mommy moment, I had a panic attack.
ACK! What will I write about?
I flipped through my mental rolodex of Proud Mommy Moments.
Boy Wonder got his black belt recently. Damn, already wrote about that.
Little CEO overcame stage fright and sang a solo at a recital. Oh hell, I did a post in June.
I celebrated the day they both learned to wipe their own butts. Okay, so Boy Wonder’s got it down. Little CEO is still a work in progress, so I eliminated that as a possibility.
My panic attack was now morphing into a serious case of sit-in-a-corner-and-rock-back-and-forth-while-weeping-silently.
My kids are 9 and 7. Those big huge milestones of babyhood and toddlerhood that seem to pile up, one after another, like a deck of cards? They just don’t come around as frequently once your kids are school age.
Sure, there are school performances and sporting events and good grades to cheer about. But the WOW moments – the ones where it hits you that your child is achieving something really big, or growing in unexpected ways – well, they become more subtle with time. You have to almost look for them; a fragment of a seashell lost in the sand.
So as I looked, I realized something.
The entire last year has been one proud mommy moment for me.
Last August, we decided, very spontaneously, to uproot ourselves from Texas and move to California. From making the decision to landing in California, it was a mere ten days (crazy, huh?). It involved my husband quitting his job, packing up a 28′ moving truck while I attended BlogHer, and well, just going like thieves in the night (note: we are not thieves in real life).
It was pretty easy for my husband and I to do. Our hearts were here, and we were ready. Our kids? Were not.
They were not ready to leave their friends and the only home they could remember.
They were not ready to start a new school where they knew no one.
They were not ready to have Daddy be the stay at home parent and Mommy be the working parent.
And when they finally got adjusted to all of that – a few months ago – Daddy went back to work and we decided to buy a house an hour away, which means moving again. Leaving a home. Leaving their newest school. Figuring out what it means to have two working parents.
We have asked them to be brave every single day of the last year – to trust us, to make friends, to do well in school, to accept that life is in flux. And they have done it. Every day.
It hasn’t been a perfectly happy road. There have been bumpy days, lots of tears, and “I’m scared”s. But they have done it.
So, it isn’t one big accomplishment that I celebrate today. I celebrate their courage to face their daily changes and challenges. That courage makes me one proud and grateful mom.
Oh Gigi, how I loved this. It’s so true, that instead of one moment sometimes, I’m just proud of the way that they are growing up, the subtle changes I see that in them as they adjust, adapt and amaze me.
Thank you for sharing those feelings here, I feel humbled to host you.
If you don’t know Gigi yet, there are plenty places to find her:
Her Blog: Kludgy Mom
On Twitter (because she is a social media maven!) : @KludgyMom
Her Incredible Pinterest Boards
and go to her for all things BLOGGY and GEEKY.
Gigi, have a great Memorial Day weekend and thank you for being part of My Proud Mommy Moments. 
Its a big picture thing …
as adults we get so caught up in the little stuff, and then we teach our kids the same. You have given your kids a wonderful lesson in life, that has probably brought you even closer as a family.
Great moment(s) and great life my dear … like you.
Always a pleasure to read Gigi, and even more so to sit by her side as I have had the privilege of doing.
And Kir, hugs my dear, always hugs xxxx
It has been an incredible bonding experience…and an eye opener to me on how hard moving can be on a child. I always say they’re resilient,, but they do retain some scars along the way. Those scars are hard to see, but I know they make the kids stronger too.
Kir, I’m humbled to be here in your lovely space. Your intro was too kind. Thank you for having me.
Change is hard, especially for kids. It takes a lot of courage to go to a new school and make new friends.
I underestimated what a hard time they’d have, because they’re both so social. They get attached to people, maybe more easily than grown ups too. It was an eyeopener.
I feel like I learn from my children all the time, especially now that they are 14 and 10. They are resilient, forgiving and optimistic most of the time. Some of my proudest mommy moments were not things they did or said, but just the opposite. Recently it has been in those moments of most frustration, in the midst of girl drama, that they have shown their true character by not giving in to the temptation of trash talking, gossip or vindictiveness. They have risen above.
Great post, Gigi!
So true..it’s more in what they don’t do sometimes that is so telling, isn’t it?
My sister and I never moved. From kindergarten through senior year, we were the ones everyone knew from the sandbox.
Which was great, in that we never had that “I’m the new kid” moment…walking into a cafeteria or classroom alone.
But.
We also never had the chance to “reinvent” ourselves; to challenge our own notions of who we were and what roll we filled among our peers.
We used to wistfully claim we wished we could have moved; could have made a big splash as the new girl everyone wanted to get to know…
But that was just bravado. Because the fact of the matter is that we were always safe. We never had to face the unknown.
Your kids are SO brave and wonderful.
And you guys made them that way.
Be proud of all of you.
Because I surely am.
Thanks, Julie. As you so eloquently said, the idea of moving can really cut both ways for kids. Fortunately, my two are VERY excited and positive for this upcoming move in 3 weeks. It feels much different than the August move. Last weekend, they each made new friends in our new cul de sac when we stopped by the house. The looks on their faces – to have made friends the first day – was priceless.
I am THRILLED for them (and you) that they made friends on the cul de sac –
(Also, thrilled that you live on a cul de sac…my one big regret about our house is that it’s on a STEEP hill that’s a through street. Duh.)
If we don’t get to meet up before you move, I’ll just have to come visit in SD. In all your spare time – ha!
Good luck and much joy in your new home.
oops. I meant “role” not “roll” – the teacher in me came out.
Wow! That was two big changes. Glad to hear everything went so well. I’ll be checking out your blog!
Gigi! Duh! If you had tweeted me, I would have told you this! In the throes of writing the parent blessing for my son’s bar mitzvah, I came to this same realization. It’s been this whole year that he has astounded me. And they do that, don’t they? They have their dip and bumps, but they continue to push forward.
We just forget to recognize these holy moments. Kind of like taking the sun for granted. We stop seeing these things as precious. Or something. But they are. Glad you saw it.
And Kir, you rock pretty hard yourself.
They really do learn how to persevere at such a young age. Sometimes I admire their maturity and wonder where I lost mine
wow, what a really nice thing to say to me. Thank you Renee, I think you’re pretty amazing.
We moved when I was 7 and it was really rough at first. I remember lots of crying and missing friends. And my move wasn’t even as big as yours. But I adjusted and in the end made so many more friends in my new neighborhood. Plus, they have you for a mom—so that in and of itself has to be a huge deal. love this post and that your moment spans a year.
xoxoxo
Neither my husband nor I moved as kids, and we are still relatively close to where we both grew up. There’s something amazingly wonderful about that and amazingly regretful at the same time.
Your kids have had a crazy year, but they have had their (wonderful) parents to ground them and help them through it, and that means more than anything.
Gigi, this almost made me cry! I think because there are many things I have to ask my kids to be brave for, be good for, just take in stride. And for the most part they do too. Thanks for sharing!
Love this so very much, Gigi!
(What strikes me the most is that you’re proud of the family that you’ve created. And that? Is strive-worthy and inspiring.)