I get daily devotions from the Proverbs 31 Ministries, and I received this one yesterday. Unfortunately, it hit really close to home. I am constantly telling my kids we’ll do things, and then either we run out of time or something else comes up. I don’t tell them we’ll do something to keep them quiet, I genuinely want to do whatever I tell them we’ll do. But unfortunately, we’re busy, and things come up, a lot. Take Sunday for instance: On the way home I told my daughter that we would play with her new cooking stuff in her kitchen. When we got home we quickly unpacked and hubby talked to his family. His sister was was feeling better and we decided that we really needed to go and visit her in the hospital and meet our new little niece. So we loaded up the kids and took them over there. When we got home it was time for baths and my daughter broke down crying because we didn't play in the kitchen. I felt horrible! I had promised her, and I hadn't seen her all weekend.

After reading this I realized how important it is to really be careful about what I say we’ll definitely do. I also want to make sure I’m sitting down and talking to my daughter about how we might do something, but if something more important comes up, it will have to wait.

So how many of you out there do the same thing?

A Mom Who Keeps Her Promises
By Glynnis Whitwer

1 Corinthians 13:6-7, “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects,
always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (NIV)

Devotion:
One day, just before the start of school, my middle son sat cross-legged on the ground, playing at the foot of my desk while I worked on the computer. Since he’d been out-thinking me from the time he was two, I shouldn’t have been surprised at the conversation that ensued.

“Mom,” he started simply. “When you were little, did Grandma ever tell you she’d get you a pony and then didn’t?”

“No, she didn’t,” I answered, fully engaged and wondering where this line of thought would go.

“Well, you told us you’d take us to Toy’s R Us this summer and you didn’t. That’s a true lie,” Dylan solidly proclaimed.

I was shocked that he remembered a promise from three months back, but more stunned by his reasoning. In the midst of being impressed by how his mind worked, I was convicted. He was right! Every time we drove past the toy store, my three little boys asked to stop and I’d put them off. It wasn’t that we didn’t have the time, but taking three boys into a toy store was pure torture. Either I should have taken them or I shouldn’t have promised we would do it.

I stopped my work, joined him on the floor, and sincerely apologized for not following through on my commitment. That little 6-year-old taught me a lesson I’m still learning: I need to keep my promises to my children!

It’s tempting to think the kids will understand when my schedule changes and it becomes inconvenient to keep a commitment. After all, they are “just” kids. Right? Wrong! I’ve discovered that after God and my husband, my children are the most important people to whom I should honor a promise.

The truth is while children may say they understand when we don’t keep a promise, depending on their ages, it’s really hard for them to fully grasp our complicated lives. All they know is they are eating a cafeteria lunch alone when mom said she’d bring a Happy Meal. Or they are in front of a TV when mom promised to take them to the park.

We all know life happens and interrupts even the best-laid plans. That’s part of what we need to teach children – to be flexible. The problem arises when it becomes a habit. A mom who consistently backs out of promises will teach her children to do the same, and will leave them insecure and possibly resentful.

To become mothers who keep their promises, we need to guard our words and follow some daily practices. Don’t make a promise simply to stop a child’s repeated requests. Carefully consider your schedule and commitments before offering to do something. Start with small promises and build up to larger ones. If the promise has to do with an outing as a family, work together as a family to get everything done before going. Look beyond a child’s words to her heart. Does her request have more to do with spending time with you than going to the park? If so, offer an alternative before you commit to something you probably can’t do.

A mother has the high calling of modeling the faithfulness of God to her children. More than words, children watch actions. Will they find a mother who keeps her promises? If so, it will lead them to a God who keeps His promises.

My Anniversary

One year ago today I started blogging. I had no idea what in the world I was getting into :) I never in a million years thought anyone would read this, so I just wrote whatever was on my mind. Over the past year I have made some great friendships. I love that I know so many people all over the country, and some of them actually find me semi-interesting…go figure!

The main reason I started this is still the main reason I do this…to record my thoughts and feelings of being a working mom (a happy, working mom :) ). I want to be able to pull all of these entries out and show my kids when they’re older just how much I love them and have always loved being a mom. I want them to know how important they have always been to me, and to also be able to learn from my experiences over the years. I’m bad about keeping up baby books and recording all the “firsts,” but this blog makes it really easy to make sure I don’t forget important milestones in their lives.

I have met so many people that I have so much in common with, and I love it. You guys are all so great! I love having this network to come to with my success stories and my pleas for help when I’m failing.

Thank you so much for keeping up with me this past year!

Race Weekend Recap

What a fabulous weekend I had! Here’s the story:


So like I said before, we leave for Charlotte and get in around 1:00 in the morning. We get up, have an awesome breakfast (made to order omelets, pancakes, eggs, you name it they had it!) and then headed out to the patio to enjoy the sun. I wrote out some of my daughter’s thank-you’s and hubby did some work. Then we headed to the gigantic mall and shopped for a while. I’m in the process of trying to decide whether or not I need a new cell phone. I told hubby that the only reason I would want a new one is to get a better camera on it. So then hubby suggested that we go and look at little digital cameras that I could keep in my purse (this is the one we have now, and while it’s the best camera in the entire world, I obviously can’t carry that around with me at all times). So after a couple of hours shopping (which was really nice with no kids!) we purchased a little camera that takes REALLY good pictures!

Then we head over to a cute little Mexican place for dinner and eat great food and drink margaritas. Then we headed back to the hotel for free drinks and to listen to a really horrible band play.



We heard that this cute little thing had finally decided to arrive at 5:23 after 20 hours of labor and 4 hours of pushing.







After that, we went up to our room, watched TV, and ordered room service for dessert.

It was the best day we have had in a long time! Oh, and the whole way down we did not have the radio on at all. We actually talked for 6 hours straight! It’s amazing how many things get lost when you’re constantly running around after kiddos :)

Saturday everyone else had arrived (hubby’s dad came in around 3:00 in the morning). I laid out in the morning and then my sister and I went shopping. Then hubby and his dad and I went to this really great steakhouse for dinner.

Sunday – RACE DAY!!! Our hotel was only ½ mile from the track, so we walked up and looked at the trailers and bought all of our gifts for my parents and the kids, and then headed back and I took a 2 ½ hour nap! Around 4:00 we walked back up to the track and got ready for the race. Unfortunately, the race was very disappointing, none of the guys that had led the race actually won (they all had to pit and get fuel, thereby letting Casey Mears win – Casey who?) So my boy Jimmie Johnson didn’t win :( It was nice this year because I actually don’t have one person that I root for anymore. I used to LOVE Kurt Busch (please stop throwing things at me) because I thought he was supposed to be my husband (I was born in Las Vegas, which is where he is from and we are the same age). And then I liked Michael Waltrip, not because of his ability to drive (obviously) but because he was such a funny guy and really into his family. I do really like Jimmy, but I’m not a die-hard fan. So this year I just had people I disliked very much, and then just cheered on the rest :) It was actually very nice!

For those of you not into races, I have to just stress how much fun it really was! Once you get past the drunk, obnoxious rednecks, you are surrounded with really nice people! And the race is so different live! I really never watch them on TV anymore, but at the track it’s completely different.

Here are some pictures…I hope everyone else had a great Memorial Day weekend!


Hubby and I at the race!



Hubby and I in the hotel


Different views from our seats:

We Have a New Little Niece!

We haven't gotten any pictures yet or many details, but finally, around 5:00 or 6:00 tonight little Mya was born at 8 lbs. 3 oz.

Welcome to the world little Mya!!!


(I'm still have a blast in Charlotte!)

I Love North Carolina!!

Well we made, at 1:00 this morning! Yesterday didn’t turn out like we had wanted it to :) When I got home from work I learned that the floor people that were supposed to be there by 8:00 in the morning didn’t show up until 10:00 and the floor and everything wasn’t done until 3:00 (we had wanted to leave around 1:00). We also learned that my sister-in-law has pre-eclampsia (sp.?) and was induced last night around 11:00. Hubby and I needed this weekend so badly that we continued on with our plan to take the kids down and head to Charlotte. His mom is not coming and his dad is patiently (sarcastic) waiting for the newest little addition to arrive so that he can get in the car and head down here. I kind of feel bad for my sister-in-law because I’m sure he’s pacing in the waiting room dying for it to happen (she was 6 cm at 9:30 this morning). Our guess is 2:00 (my daughter was induced at 9:00 and we had her at 1:00 the next day).

So now we’re off to the gigantic outlet mall to get hubby some new boxers (yep, he forgot to pack them!). Hopefully I will have some time to sit in the awesome lounge chairs outside and read all of your blogs (maybe sipping one of the free cocktails that are offered between 5:30 and 7:30)

Have a great Friday!

We are off to Charlotte today, and I can't wait! I will leave work around 11:00, take my daughter to the doctor for her 4 year check-up, and then we are headed down to my parents' house to drop the kids off and then we are off to Charlotte!

Tomorrow we have nothing planned, so I'll probably lay around, read, shop at this gigantic outlet mall and take a nap :) This is the hotel we are staying at (brand new this year) and I'm looking forward to just hanging out in there! Saturday will probably be more of the same...my sisters will be down there by then so we'll probably hook up with them and hang out.

Then Sunday is the race! I can't wait! It's not so much that I love NASCAR (I don't eve really have anyone anymore that I cheer for) but the experience is so much fun. It's a night race, so we'll start off sunny (I hope!) and warm, and then by the end it will be dark and cooler. Halfway through the race I'll wander back over to the trailers where all of the merchandise is sold (because come on, hours and hours of cars going in circles bores me).

Our hotel has high speed internet, so I hope to get on tomorrow or Saturday and give an update!

Hard Times with Hubby.....

Living in my house has been kind of difficult right now…hubby and I aren’t seeing eye-to-eye on some things. I feel like I’m doing a ton for the kids and around the house every night that I think he should be helping me with. He believes it’s his prerogative to sit out and talk with the neighbors if that’s what he wants to do. He seems to have no problem doing what he wants while I run around the house busting my butt to get everything done that needs to be done. I try so hard to provide a clean, loving home for all of them.

We tried to talk about this on the way to our VBS meeting yesterday. He informed me that moms have more “motherly duties” that need done. And that if he wants to talk outside with his friends then he can. So of course we’re not really speaking to each other (unless it has to do with the kids). These statements sound so sexist, and to those of you that don't know him, he is never like this, so I have no idea where it's coming from. It's not like him at all.

I think I’m more confused than anything else…he used to be such a kind and caring dad…you couldn’t pull him away from the kids (or me). But now, it’s like he’s just thinking about himself and what he wants. I asked him what his number one priority was and he told me that he couldn’t believe I was asking him that (implying that I should know it was me). But then I brought up, if I’m asking him, then doesn’t that mean it’s not apparent? How is it that he can just sit around knowing that I’m going 1,000,000 million miles a minute trying to keep the house up (which, by the way, is because for so many years he would have a fit if the house was a mess, so I’ve kind of molded myself to thinking the same way) and take care of the kids?

I’m writing this for a couple of reasons. I’m not bad-mouthing my husband, I love him very much and I just want suggestions maybe on how other people have worked through this issue. We know that we’ll be together forever, divorce is never an option. But I don’t want to keep living like this, so something has to change! I also think it’s important that people don’t put on facades when it comes to their marriages…no marriage is perfect, and they’re all hard work!

This is what’s on my mind today.

Before and After....

OK, So here are my before and after pictures of our paint and decorating job. I took the pictures after work yesterday, so there's not a ton of light, but I think you can still see the dramatic change!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

A Wonderful Birthday Weekend!

Wow, what a weekend! I had a ton of fun, but I am definitely exhausted! Friday my daughter and I went to the mall where she played for hours! She met some little friends and they had a blast together! Then we went to Sephora to get something for me and of course she put on a bunch of make-up and looked beautiful :) I especially loved the one eye with bright green eye shadow and the other one with bright pink :) Before I even made it out of the mall she was sound asleep, and slept the whole way in the car until we got to the cake store to buy the stuff to make her cake.

Friday night we went and picked up their jeep and some other little things needed for the party. By the time we got home it was dark out, but the kids didn’t care…they drove it out in the dark until we made them come in.

Saturday hubby finished painting (we are all done now!) and I started cooking all of the food for the party. Hubby also went and bought the fire pit that was needed for the party. My mom told me she was coming up early to help, and I guess our definitions of “early” differ. I had left some things that I knew she could help with and she ended up only getting their two hours early. So in the end we were rushing around like crazy trying to get everything done. I decorated my daughters cake in about 1 ½ hours, which is great for me (and I found a new type of icing that tastes great and is easy to decorate with, so if you decorate cakes and want to know, just e-mail me). Then It ended up being party time and we had no tables outside!

In reality, this is how all of our parties go…I’m never on time! But it worked out…the kids started playing tea party while I finished setting everything up. The only bad thing that happened was that hubby procrastinated getting the fire wood for the fire pit, so he and a friend went looking for some. 1 hour later he still wasn’t back. Finally he shows up with it and the party goes on. My daughter got some really neat gifts! And I was really proud of her when she was opening…she looked at her presents a lot longer before moving on to the next one this year than she did last year! Then we had cake and I have to admit, I really liked the way it tasted (unlike my others which were done purely for looks).

Once it started getting dark we brought out the hot dogs and s’mores. It was really nice sitting around roasting marshmallows and just talking! I think I finally took the kids in for baths around 11:30.

On Sunday we went to church and then my daughter and I headed over to the baby shower for my sister-in-law. It lasted about 2 hours, and what made it nice was the fact that some people that hubby had grown up with were there, so I sat and talked to them the whole time, and my daughter loved hearing stories about what her daddy did when he was little.

After the shower my daughter and I came home and took a nap! And then we went outside and played. I’m still worn out, but I think it was a wonderful weekend!

Here she is at around 10:30 last night watching Nemo while I cleaned up. She was so worn out but all she wanted to do was sit on the couch while I cleaned up a little. How could I say no?

A Birthday Letter

To My Precious Little Princess:

Right now you are sleeping in my bed. You yet again talked me into letting you watch Barney because “we didn’t get to watch a movie.” And since no movie was ever talked about, let alone promised, I’m confused as to how you got your way, but you did. You are a master negotiator, and that is just one of the MANY things that I love about you.

So many times last night you expressed how excited you were that tomorrow was our day…just mommy and you. You kept telling me that you love to spend time with mommy…I felt so happy! Today will be our day…just ours. Whatever you want to do, we’ll do it!

You are such a smart little girl…you beg me to do Hooked on Phonics with you and teach you how to read, because you don’t like to “pretend the wrong words” when you read it yourself. You are trying to learn how to tie your shoes, and you can count to 100 without any help.

You always want to help me…with everything I do. Last night you filled the goody bags for your party…you were so proud of yourself! Grandma called and you told her all about how you divided everything up and filled them all yourself! You have been helping us paint each night…you are so good at it! When I was cleaning up after dinner I said that I had to clean the table and then we would take a bath. You asked me “do you want me to go downstairs and get my cleaning stuff and do it for you mom?” You want to learn how to do everything by yourself, and you’ve learned that they way to do that is to help us, and you try; every chance you get.

You love your little brother (sometimes a little too much!). You were always so good about telling anyone who watches him that he’s allergic to eggs. And if he ever threw up, no matter where he was, you would ask the adult there “did you give him egss?” You help him find the toy he wants since he’s too little to look for it himself. He looks up to you, and copies everything you do, and you eat that up. You told him in the car last night when you handed him a snack “don’t put the whole thing in your mouth, take bites!”

You make me laugh, and that is the one trait (that we can see so far) that you inherited from your dad. You look like me, act like me and talk like me, but you want and are able to make people laugh, and that’s why I love your dad, so it’s the one trait I’m so glad he passed on to you.

When you talk you sound like you’re 12, not 4. You have always talked well and we have received compliments for your speech since you were 15 months-old. And it keeps improving. Today you asked me what “treason” meant. I love answering your “what does this word mean?” questions; it keeps me on my toes. Your attitude is also that of a 12 year-old, which is probably from hanging out with me and our two little (older) neighbors whom you have grown up with. You tell me “whatever, well duh, and of course” all the time. But you’re not disrespectful when you say it, because you’re too young to actually know what you’re saying.

Last year at this time I would have written about your lack of hair, and how it was finally starting to come in. Now you have absolutely CRAZY hair! It’s curly, and we have no idea where you got that from. And only I insist on styling it all the time, so when I pick you up from the sitter’s, it is a frizz ball gone wrong! And you know how you like it. You will tell me if you want to wear it curly or straight, ponytail or pigtails, headband or clippy. You have fun playing stylist with your Ariel salon that your wonderful stylist aunt gave you for Christmas. I would not be surprised at all if you grew up to be a hair designer. Even in the bath last night you were putting “gel” in your brother’s hair and styling it.

You are a beautiful girl; you are my girl. I can’t imagine my life without you. I know there was a time when you weren’t around, but I don’t remember what that was like. I have fun with you every day! I’m not scared of you being a teenager. I know there will be difficult times, but I’m doing my best to lay the foundation for a great relationship between us. I have so many dreams for you, but my biggest dream is that you and I will be best friends when you “grow up” and have kids of your own. I see the mothers and daughters out there that have that, and I want it!

I love you so much, and these words don’t even come close to describing it. But someday you’ll look back on these words and see how much I love you, and how much your dad loves you, and how hard we have worked to provide you the best life we can.

Happy birthday Ky-Bear!
Thank you so much for being my daughter and the light of my life!

Love,
Mommy

Birthday Present Decisions

Last night we took the kids to Toys ‘R Us to try to decide what to get my daughter for her birthday. We have been torn, because she LOVES her Barbie Jeep (powerwheels), but it’s a hand me down from our good friends…our daughter is the third little girl to go through it. The wheels are bent (they are actually the third set of wheels) and it’s just very worn. So we wanted to get her a new one. The problem is that we really didn’t want to get her something pink because then our son couldn’t use it. We got our daughter one of the smaller ones when she was 2, and now our son loves to drive it, but it’s purple and pink. So we didn’t want to make the same mistake again. So hubby went online and found this nice little thing that can go anywhere. It’s definitely not girly at all (the one at the store is actually dark green and yellow), and it’s quite a bit more expensive, but they could drive on all the open lots we still have, go over the curbs, and nothing would hurt it!

So the kids sat in it and played in it. It has some really neat features – it’s huge! And it has a real radio in it (picks up real stations), and it has a thing that shows how much battery life you have left. But did I mention how much it cost?

We went back and forth and finally realized that this should last through all of the kids we plan to have, and that she and her brother, and future children will really love it and we will get our money’s worth. So we bought it. We paid the extra $25 to have it assembled because hubby and our good friend spent hours putting the Barbie one together 5 years ago, and hubby thought $25 was a great price for someone else to do it!

But I really don’t want to give it to just my daughter. She and my son are having a hard time right now with the whole “mine” thing, and I could see this being a source of arguments in the future. So while we’ll give it to THEM tomorrow or the next day, we bought a couple little Fairytopia dolls (my daughter’s new obsession) for her actual presents.

I blame my ability to spend oogles of money on powerwheels on the fact that my parents would never get us one. And I really wanted one when I was little.

You Will Be So Proud of Me.....

Last night I was going over the HUGE list in my head of all the things that need to be done for my daughter’s party on Saturday, and then my sister-in-law’s shower on Sunday. Hubby actually fell asleep on the couch after dinner (he has been up painting the last couple of nights, and he made dinner, so I cut him some slack) so I decided that the kids could play inside, even though it was absolutely gorgeous outside, so that I could get some things done. My daughter kept asking me if we could go outside and play and I kept telling her “no,” I had get the house ready for her party. Do you know what words actually came out of my mouth in my frustration? “You choose, we can go outside but then we can’t have your party because the stuff is not done. Which do you want? Outside now or birthday party?” I’m absolutely appalled at myself! Of course she chose the party and went back to playing.

Then all of a sudden it hit me like a ton of bricks. Who cares about the house right now? I could work on it after they go to bed. Here it is, a gorgeous evening, and we’re inside. So I went back to them and said “get your shoes on, we’re going outside!” Do you know what my daughter said? “No Mommy, I want my party.” Heart.Broken. I told her she would definitely still have her party – I had just changed my mind.

So we went outside, and then went for a walk down to the pond, and then visited with some neighbors, and then came home and I gave the kids a bath. At the end of their bath hubby woke up and started painting. I put the kids to sleep and changed my clothes to paint and hubby told me to get a glass of wine and sit and watch TV. So I folded one more load of laundry, grabbed a wine cooler and a bottle of nail polish and painted my toenails…something I haven’t had time to do in months!

So while I didn’t get as much done as I had wanted, but it was a fun night and in my heart I know I did the right thing. So thank you internet-support team! Keep it coming, because with your support, I know I can overcome the need to be “supermom.”

Outside Influences

I read an article last night while I was sitting outside watching my daughter ride her Barbie jeep. It talked about how moms need to slow down and stop thinking that we have to be superwoman. I can completely relate to the lady in this article, especially lately. I constantly feel like I’m going non-stop trying to get everything done, and I don’t see an end in sight. Why do I do this?

I realized I have one main person in my life that has influenced me…and not necessarily for the better. Our neighbor and good friend is always “on the go.” She never stops. Ever. Even when her kids were little, she was always doing something around the house. Her house is always spotless (and yes, she works about 10 hours per day outside the home). They moved into their new house and immediately she got it decorated…it really does look nice. She makes comments to me that really sting, and I know she’s not saying them to be mean, she would never do that, but still, they get to me. I was showing her the house a couple of months ago and she asked me if I had new bedding; I told her I didn’t, and she said “oh, I guess I’ve never seen your bed made before.” Ouch.

Lately, I have found myself going 100 miles per minute to make sure our house is always clean and neat. I didn’t used to be this way. I’m always worried she or her husband will stop by the house when it’s a mess and make their usual comments. Now before you start asking why I’m friends with people like this, again, they have no idea what they’re doing, I’m sure of it. That’s just how they live…very neat and clean, and they think that everybody should live this way. And I’m not afraid to stand up to them…I’ve often told the guy that I’d rather play with my kids than clean the whole house all the time. But still, there’s a bad connection between what my head knows to be true and the actions of my body. Even though I know I should stop working so hard getting dishes done or picking up toys, my body ignores this and keeps on working.

I know that if this person were not around all the time I would not be like this…I would not have the constant pressure to make sure our walls are painted and our pictures are hung up and we have furniture in every room. I just need to work super hard to ignore the pressure and enjoy myself the way I am, and the way my kids want me to be.

So what about you? Do you have an outside influence that makes you act differently from how you truly want to act? Is there someone that always makes you feel like you need to be superwoman to be a good mom?

1 Busy Weekend Down, 2 To Go!

Phew! What a weekend! We started painting at 7:30 Friday morning, and let me tell you, we had a blast! Hubby and I had so much fun spending the day together, even though we were working – in different rooms most of the time. I did the whole kitchen…love the color. And then hubby did the two accent walls in the great room (dark purple – love it!). Then we decided to tackle the harder walls…the ones that go all the way up to the upstairs hallway and also through to the foyer. But then we realized we didn’t have a ladder that would work (and we had 4 of them there!). After we finally got a ladder it was about 9:00. So we worked on two more walls (2 stories high), and at 2:00 AM we decided to call it quits. We cleaned up and went to bed. I am so happy with how it looks so far…and we have taped a lot of the rest of it that needs done, so hopefully we’ll do a little each night.

On Saturday we woke up, cleaned up some more, packed, and headed down to my parents’ to pick the kids up. I hadn’t started my sister’s scrapbook yet, so the whole way down to my parents’, and then the whole way down to Kentucky I scrapped. I finished it (except for the last page) when we were 4 miles away. I have never scrapped that fast before…and it really looked good! I saved the last page to add pictures that I would take at the graduation…I went and printed them off after it and added them quickly before giving it to her.

The graduation was nice…a lot more informal than I would have expected a medical school graduation to be. But the kids were amazing during the 2 hour ceremony, and I was so proud of my sister! She has dreamed of being a doctor since she was so little, and now she is officially, “Dr. Suzie.”

Sunday we woke up, drove to my parents, gave presents and then went to dinner. Let me just say that those Shutterfly books are AMAZING!!! I loved the way they turned out and highly recommend them to anyone to use as a great gift, or for themselves! The bottle of wine that I gave my sister turned out really nice as well.

We didn’t end up getting home until around 8:30 last night, so things were a little crazy. My kids gave me my present…a pair of silver earrings with diamonds in them that match a necklace that hubby gave me for Christmas the year before my daughter was born. They are gorgeous, but the posts are so thick and I have a hard time getting them in my ears…have you ever had this before? It’s the weirdest thing! I showed hubby a normal pair of earrings and even he couldn’t believe how thick these are. So I may have to take them back, which makes me really sad, but I couldn’t imagine keeping something that cost that much in a jewelry box only to be brought out every once in a while because they hurt.

I was a selfish mom and kept the kids up until about 11:00, and then we watched Barney in my bed until 11:30. I figured it was Mother’s Day and if I wanted to keep them up with me, I could, because it was MY day :)

Now it’s back to work…but only for 4 days because Friday is my daughter’s birthday and she and I are spending the whole day together!

The Plan....For Now

So the plan is for my mom to pick the kids up from the sitter’s today and take them to her house. Then hubby and I are going to hopefully get everything taped tonight, and then we are taking off work tomorrow to paint. I really, really hope that we can get it all done in a day…I think that’s a little too optimistic, but we’re going to try.

Then on Saturday we’ll head down to my parents’ and then we’ll all leave for Kentucky for my sister’s graduation. Her wine bottle will be delivered today and my photo books should come tomorrow…I can’t wait to see how they all turned out! I will try to post pictures (if I remember…I still owe you one of the new car!).

Sunday we will drive home and hopefully stop somewhere nice for Mother’s Day brunch/celebrate my dad’s birthday which is tomorrow. It’s the start of the official birthday week…his birthday is exactly one week before my daughter’s, so ever since she was born he has named this “the birthday week.”

Sorry nothing interesting…I’m still stressed but working through it. I got a call this morning that our good friend (and neighbor’s) dad passed away, so they are all heading down to Florida right now. He knew it was coming…he had advanced lung cancer, but the really sad part is that the family had planned on taking a trip down to Florida Memorial Day weekend to say “good-bye.” They have two girls that are 8 and 6 and they didn’t get the chance to say “good-bye.” I know they were all so close to him…our family had even hung out with him a couple of times…he taught my daughter her first Spanish words.

I guess the silver lining to this has been a wake-up call to me…who cares how much stuff I “have” to do? Why am I stressing over all this stuff? At least I have my parents, and my husband, and my kids. I’m not dealing with a loss right now, and for that, I’m truly grateful.

I’ve decided that it would do our kids a lot better if dads took the kids to the park more often. Why, you ask? Because last night I noticed something…something so big it impacts our kids’ development.

We went to eat at Joe's Crab Shack, and while we were waiting for our food, we took the kids down to the wonderful playground they have set up. My son is almost two, so he still comes down the stairs on either his stomach or his butt; he is still such a little thing. And my daughter is a little hesitant about some of the apparatuses, so she takes her time. Well last night there were some older kids playing as well, and hubby and I were standing there watching everything, right next to the playground. My son was starting to go down the slide and a little boy ran over and climbed up the slide. My first gut reaction was to tell the kid that he was going the wrong way and then scour the crowd to give his mother a dirty look. But for some reason I just stood there and watched (as hubby was already doing), and my son patiently waited (and watched with amazement) as this little boy climbed up past him, and then he slid himself down.

My son was fine…he was slowly learning his own independence, and how to pick his battles…he didn’t mind waiting for the other kid (me, on the other hand, would have been screaming at him to MOVE). And then I thought back, and I realized that this is how hubby always deals with other kids. The only time he ever says anything to another child is if a child hurts one of ours…but other than that, he watches and lets our kids handle the situations themselves.

I know my kids will definitely benefit more from his careful watching eye than my constantly running in to “save my baby.”

Stress Relieved, Stress Added

Thank you to all of you who have been so supporting and encouraging during my time of stress :) It’s getting better and worse at the same time. Last night, around 11:55 PM I finished the two photo books from Shutterfly for Mother’s Day. Those things are the coolest! I can’t wait to see what the finished product is. It was so easy, and really, a lot of fun. I scrapped about 30 pages in around a total of 8 hours. I would normally only probably get 5 pages, if I was lucky, done in 8 hours the manual way. I paid the extra money so that they should be here by Friday.

Another two things off my list, check! But guess what? Remember our piece o’crap Chrysler van? (Sorry to those of you that own one and like it…actually, no I’m not…we HATE ours! It keeps breaking, it’s been in the shop more times than I can count in the past two years, etc.) So last night hubby decides that he wants to get an SUV instead of a new van. So last night we went to the dealership and test drove one and loved it! We are going to sign the papers today. So good-bye piece o’crap van! The new car has a DVD player for the kids (they are sooo happy!) and a navigation system and a whole lotta other goodies. But, would you like to know how this adds to my stress? See, our piece o’crap van (it’s a 2002, and we bought it in January of 2005) had a value of around $20,000 when we bought it. Do you know what it’s value is today, just 2 years later? $6,000. Can you see how much of a piece o’crap it is? So of course we have negative equity that we have to pay, so bye-bye painters, hello hubby and me taking off work on Friday to paint because we are using our painting money to pay our STUPID van off.

OK, I think that’s about it for now…I wish I had some deep, thought provoking post, but really keeping a daily log of my “stress” is really helping. Would you like to hear about a new stress that hubby has added? No? OK, just close out because I’m going to write it anyway :)

Hubby has come up with a FANTASTIC business idea for me. It involves a very long standing profession, but adds a twist to it that no one else is doing. The problem? It involves a career change. I have to become a realtor. I’m not worried about it…I took one of the classes in college because I thought it was interesting and did really well in it. However, studying and taking the CPA exam is still so fresh in my mind, and the thought of going back to class for another 3 weeks and studying again is not a good one, especially since it’s now so nice out! I’m still trying to work out some details and get all of the information, but the more I think about it, it seems very silly to not go for it (especially since I don’t have to quit my current job to start it!). I’ll keep you posted!

UPDATE On List Progress...

Not much of my list is getting done.

Graduation present for sister: Ordered - still need to work on mini-scrapbook for her
Mother’s Day presents: Started (Shutterfly seems too good to be true)
Painting: We had an estimate done – holy crap! I can’t believe it will cost that much…
Still debating doing it ourselves…that’s a lot of money!
Filing of 10-Q: Yeah…pushed back to May 9th now

Hmmm, yeah, I think that’s all that’s been done. What did I do this weekend? Saturday we went to the outlets and got all the kids’ summer clothes…not on the million-item list, but still needed to be done as we are FINALLY getting warm! My daughter got a lot of cute dresses (she LOVES dresses and skirts and wears them all.the.time.). The Carters outlet had some stuff that was 70% off! So I was able to get an adorable onesie for our neighbor that just had a baby (retails for $12, got it for $3.60!) and then I got A BUNCH of outfits for my sister-in-law’s baby, so once she’s born I have the gift already! I think I got 6 outfits (from Carters mind you) for $35.

Then yesterday we taught Sunday school, so we didn’t get out of church until about 12:30, and then we went over and looked at a new SUV – which we’ll go test drive tonight. Hubby is so sick of the stupid van…so he’s found a really nice SUV that he wants. After that we came home and I made lunch (Rachel Ray taught me how to make these awesome open-faced egg sandwiches. She knew that’s what we were feeling like…she knows me so well). Big news with lunch: my son ate some eggs and didn’t throw up! Last Mother’s Day we diagnosed him with an allergy to eggs seeing that was the common food he ate three different times before immediately throwing up, with the last time being on Mother’s Day on the way home from a VERY nice brunch. So we waited a year, and since we were having egg sandwiches for lunch yesterday, and I didn’t feel like cooking him something separate, we decided it was safe to try again. He didn’t eat a whole egg, but what he did eat he kept down!

After lunch I made a meal for our neighbor that just had a baby, and then I played with the kids. We then went on a walk, came home, ate dinner and then did baths and bed. The kids were so worn out!

So as you can see, not much from my list got done. I’m going to work on the Mother’s Day presents here at work…shhh, don’t tell anyone.

Stressed, Super Busy, Stressed...HELP!

I have a lot on my plate right now…I always do this time of year. But this year is worse. Even as I sit here writing this I’m hyperventilating a little. Now I’m the type of person that lives for stress…so it’s not all bad. Give me a stressful situation and a hard deadline and I’ll work my butt off. But that doesn’t mean that once the work is done, I’m not crashing on the couch.

So here’s what I’m working currently working on:

* Preparing our company’s 10-Q. I always wanted to be an attorney…I think I’d be really good at it…but right now I HATE our attorneys (and auditors and any other person reviewing our 10-Q). I have spent more time going through everyone’s comments and trying to figure out which one makes more sense, and does it really need changed, and REALLY…NO ONE IS GOING TO READ THIS STUPID THING COVER TO COVER BUT US! Thankfully we file May 8th...hopefully!

* Our curtains are done and the designer is ready to have her people come in and install them. However, we have not painted yet. We have the paint, and we want to do it before the curtains get up, but we have no time to do it (and hello? Painting with the kids there? Won’t be the easiest thing!). We would like to hire it out, but I’m afraid it’s going to cost at least $1,000, and with already spending over $400 on paint, I just can’t justify that.

* My dad’s birthday is May 11th, I need a gift for him

* Mother’s Day is May 13th, I need to prepare gifts for the grandmothers (I think I’m going
to do this, but still, it takes time to do it)

* My sister graduates from medical school on May 12th. That means:
* I need a gift (I’m thinking about this, but again, I need to design it and
get it express mailed to my house).
* We are traveling to Kentucky that weekend for the commencement ceremony

* My daughter’s birthday is May 18th. Her party is May 19th. I sent out half of the invitations this morning, the other half have to be delivered today or tomorrow. I feel like I’ve forgotten a lot of people. I need to figure out her party…we’re doing it in the evening and I think we’re going to have a little tea party for the kids (she has a tea party theme) and then have a “city fire” (fire pit in the middle of the court) and roast marshmallows** and hotdogs. So I still need to go and by the plates, napkins, utensils and all the food!

* My sister-in-law’s baby shower is May 20th, and I have to bring some sandwiches and wraps for it.

* We leave for the NASCAR race in Charlotte on May 24th and won’t be home until May 28th…I will really miss the kids but the weekend with hubby and his family and my sisters will be SO NICE!

* My sister-in-law is due to have her baby June 7th.

* We are participating in VBS again this year, and it’s a special year (more on that later) so I’m thinking there will be a lot of stress with the huge amount of fun we’re going to have. That is June 11th – 15th.

* My son’s birthday is June 24th, but we’re having his party on June 16th so that we can rent a pavilion at one of the parks, and our city’s festival (which is tons of fun) is the weekend of his birthday. He’s turning 2, he has no idea.

I think that covers it…until something else gets added. Anyone out there want to help? I’m willing to pay you…take some of this stress off of me! Seriously, I think writing all of that out just made me feel worse…my stomach is seriously upset right now.


**I hate to admit this, but until I wrote this post, I had no idea that “marshmallows” were spelled that way, I always thought it was “marshmellows.” And I didn’t believe the spell check so I googled it, and sure enough, spell check was right!

Having A Baby Changes Everything

I found it so weird, and yet amazing at the same time, that in prior Kidfests, these clogging people would annoy the heck out of me. I would hear them dancing and see their outfits and think “who in their right mind would actually sit and watch them?”

Then I had a little girl, who loves dancing, especially tap dancing, and we sat down and watched their entire show, and she got to go up on stage with Grandma at one point, and I found myself clapping and actually enjoying myself.


Having a baby changes everything.

Good Weekend!

This past weekend was Kidfest down in our old hometown. Kidfest is when they transform the large building that the school plays basketball in into a kid’s heaven! There were jumping things, games, police cars, fire trucks, face painting, Scooby and many, many other things. Hubby and I have volunteered at it for years because it’s put on by the County’s Children’s Services, and my father-in-law was second in command there. This year was the first year that we went without volunteering, since father-in-law is now retired. He does still dress up like Ted D. Bear, so the pictures with the huge bear is Grandpa!

It was a great weekend, except that our stupid, piece of crap van broke again…the power steering went out. It happened on Sunday, on the way home from church so we headed over to Firestone since that’s the only place open on Sundays. However, they didn’t have anyone there that would know how to fix it. Huh?? Anyway, hubby ended up spending 6 hours underneath the thing and finally fixed it. Poor guy is all bruised now :( We didn’t end up getting home until 11:00 PM Sunday night, so I’m still feeling the effects of not enough sleep.

Here are some pictures from this weekend…enjoy!