Apparently, I'm not the only one hearing this from my four year old (phew!).

Our family went skating this weekend with friends who also have a four year old son. So when my mom friend and I had a minute to catch up between the skating rink and the bouncy-bounce, we discovered we had both heard "you're not my best friend anymore", "you're not my good mommy" and the dreaded "I'm not listening to you. You're a mean mommy" recently. [Insert collective sigh of relief here]

As a mom, words like that make you feel as though a million little heat seeking missiles are piercing your heart. What? You don't think I'm the best thing since sliced bread? No?

Well, that's because I'm not your best friend. I'm your mom.

My friend and I share the same sentiment when it comes to responding to the "you're not my best friend, mommy" kind of kid backtalk. It's simply not our job to be our boys' "best friends". Our collective responsibility as moms is to raise kind, generous, well-mannered young men. Sure they're cute enough (and turns out clever & bold), but that's not enough. These boys will someday (hopefully) be a great boyfriend or the husband of some girl's dream.

For now, our little guys are all ours. But someday, they'll be so much more than that. Teammates, students, roommates, boyfriends, employees, husbands and - dare I say - fathers. Although it's hard to believe, our little "talks" about the importance of manners, respect and kindness may just make a difference. We're counting on it.

After a fun morning with friends swimming in the pool, my son is finally napping. This is the time of day on weekends when I actually have some time to myself. Sometimes, for the record, I just nap with him. Like yesterday.

My girlfriend who spent the morning here with her kids, brought with her my birthday gift. My birthday was in March and I was pretty sure I remembered her giving me a Starbucks gift card. "This is your present I got you for LAST year's birthday", she said. We both shared a belly laugh that nearly made me spit out the iced mocha she also brought along for me. She and I have shared the ups and downs of being a working mom since our boys were three months old, and consider each other as necessary as breathing and caffeine. In other words, we couldn't (or wouldn't) navigate motherhood without the other.

What did she bring me? Two books and a ringed note card pack to help me organize blog notes from the convenience of my purse (or that bag I put everything in). The book I decided to dig into during nap time is a topic that she an I discuss, well, daily. It's called "You're A Good Mom (and your kids are not so bad either): 14 Secrets to Finding Happiness Between Super Mom and Slacker Mom". I'm three chapters in and I have laughed out loud a dozen times already. The author Jen Singer's advice resonates with me so far. I'm not a super mom and (thankfully) not a slacker mom either, but I do so envy those moms who seem to be able to do it all with grace and poise and to be honest, skills. Skills I don't have like craftiness and flash-card diligence and the ability to iron. Her take is that Super Mom is most likely all propaganda anyway. It's not all shiny and bright in her world and just maybe she might envy you! Even as early as page 7 she recommends ways to "overcome Super Mom envy".

As much as I try and worry and stress out, I'm never going to be her anyway. Plus, I happen to like my group of (average? regular? awesome!) mom friends that feel so real to me that I can float in their support on days that I feel I don't have it all together. I'd like to think I do that for them, too. I'm not sure what label you give us "moms in the middle", but that's frequently where you'll find us hovering.

So today, on the day our country declared it's independence, I'm declaring mine from "Super Mom Envy". Hey, would super mom be relaxing on the deck reading a book, listening to her iPod, blogging and drinking a Gin & Tonic? I think not. Happy 4th!

I've got to admit that I was utterly shocked at my son's reaction to two bags of hand-me-downs he received this month. One from his cousin and another from an older pal he idolizes. His reaction? Shear bliss!

Being first born, I personally never received any hand-me-downs. What I heard growing up from siblings and friends was not in line with my son's current state of perpetual happiness. The general consensus was "this sucks".

Is this an only child thing, I wondered? Because my kid's over the moon! Monday he wore pajama shorts that he insisted were "real shorts". Tuesday he sported a short-shirt combo that could only be described as "clashing". On Wednesday he bragged to his friends about the cool hole in the John Deere tee his cousin gave him. "The air comes right through it, mom", he said. Today as we were just about to leave the house, he stepped right out of his "regular" shorts and ran upstairs to the hand-me-down bag to find a "new" pair of shorts. I'm happy to say that today's outfit almost matches.

In the spirit of giving, I've been happy to pass along most my son's outgrown clothes to the children of friends and colleagues and always felt so good when I received glowing "thank you's". It really is such a great feeling to not have to shell out big bucks for clothes and gear that won't fit three months from now.

In addition to sharing clothing and kid gear with family and friends, there are several clothing swaps and consignment sales and shops here in the Saratoga area you should absolutely check out. Here are a few:

Treasures Thrift Shop
60 West Ave, Saratoga Springs
a service of Saratoga Hospital
http://www.saratogacare.org/

Pixie's Closet
2124 Doubleday Avenue, Ballston Spa
http://www.pixiesclosetconsignment.com/

Cuddle Bugs Consigment Boutique
455 Maple Avenue (Route 9), Saratoga Springs
http://cuddlebugssaratoga.com/

Encore
100 Saratoga Village Blvd., Suite 3, Ballston Spa
http://www.encorekidssale.com/location

Saratoga County Fairgrounds' Consignment Sale of Children's Items
is scheduled for October 3 - 10 2010
http://www.saratogacountyfair.org/Special-Events

The semi-annual Katrina Trask Nursery School's next consignment sale will be help this fall http://ktnurseryschool.org/sale