Applicant #10: Lindz Smolko

Lindz Smolko is a mom from Tacoma.

My video application:

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A bit about me:

Hi, I'm Lindz Smolko, and I feel like a sit-com mom. I married Mike in 2004, mostly because he makes me laugh and he calls me on all my shenanigans. We live in Fife, and most of our family is in the Puget Sound area. We have two kids: Amélie is four, very affectionate, and spends a lot of time pretending to be a doctor or Lady Gaga. Jack Danger burst forth next, with a cleft lip and palate, which has presented some challenges, but he is by and large a typical 2-year-old boy. He loves cars and sleeps in his Mariners hat. We have a hysterical brood of pets, too: a cat, a parakeet, a huge fish tank and two wiener dogs. I also nanny two more girls, ages 4 and 2, in my home four days a week. WHAT?!? I know, it sounds banana-nuts, and sometimes it is. I love the zany, wonderful ways of kids and animals. I live for my MOPS meetings and a margarita, boy! You have to have outlets withOUT kids or housework: date nights, girls 9; nights, a hobby, massage or just a trip to the store by yourself. (How cool is it to browse the aisles and not just hit your list like a covert military operation?!)

My blog post:

The list of milestones in my life scrolls through my brain like movie credits. I skipped forward to the most significant events of my life since marriage. I could tell you about how when I met the man who is now my husband, I proclaimed to friends, "If that guy's not gay, I'm gonna marry him." (He loooooves it when I tell people that.) I could tell you about buying our first home in the height of the market and realizing now that we are stuck in our mortgage (We're centrally located between a smoke shop and tavern, but Fife schools are fantastic!) I might also share with you that our first child, Amélie, was conceived after apple martinis and World of Warcraft. It's possible you'd enjoy the story of how our second-born, Jack Danger, was born with a cleft lip and palate; and that while I am so thankful for the surgeon who gave Jack a beautiful, new face, I miss the face he was born with every day. I could charm you with the tale of realizing that the insanity I felt after Amélie's birth were the effects of post-partum depression. Or how about what it's like to be overweight? Surely, that would be news to most all of you. (Tongue firmly pressed against cheek...annnnd a piece of chocolate). Then, there's the mad fact that I have my two kids, ages 4 and 2, and I nanny two others. Pushing it all into the "crazy zone" is our pet menagerie: the cat, the parakeet, the cichlid tank, and two wiener dogs.

I have a lot of wacky stories about MOPS, church worship team, co-op preschool, Zumba, The Little Gym, my education and employment history. But where's the mind-blowing stimulation in that? These are all the kinds of things you, my fellow moms, do everyDAY. It's amazing we haven't evolved to have two heads and eight arms because that is the kind of multi-tasking we manage in our daily lives. It's not always easy, and it's rarely pretty (if I shower before noon, it's a good day), but it's our own awesome adventure. On the days that drag on like a root canal, I try to remember that it will be mere moments before my kids are teens, then going (away) to college, then finding soul mates, and perhaps even giving me grandbabies (MANY moons from now).

For now, I'm thankful for the tugging on my pant leg, the little noses I wipe, meals I have to cut into tiny bites. For as long as I can, I will continue bringing them into our bed after nightmares, approving every outfit Daddy picks out, reading Dr. Seuss ad nauseum, bathing, soothing, and reveling in every childlike wonder they share with me. I would be honored to throw open the barn doors on my life and learn more about yours. I want to help us ALL get through every week with mind-, body-, money-, and child-rearing honesty and humor.

Lindz