One
My baby is turning 2 on Sunday. I can't believe how fast time is going! Sam is such a joy in our lives.
Two
I have almost all of my Christmas shopping done. I feel like I'm usually very last minute about gifts, but I only have a few left and I don't need to stress about them.
Three
I've got some sugar cookies in the oven baking for the kids snack. The boys come home ravenous in the afternoons.
Four
The kids decorated the Christmas tree this year and I think it's great. There are clusters of ornaments here and there and bare spots, but I haven't had the impulse to make it look "just right". It's perfect. (There are usually 4 or 5 ornaments rolling around the floor because Sam likes to take them down.)
Five
I'm looking forward to a couple of exciting "get aways" we have planned for next year.
Six
Tacos. I probably have put tacos on this list so many times already.... To be specific this week- crunchy tacos.
Seven
Dunkin Donuts coffee. We finally got a Dunkin in our neck of the woods and it is good. I only ever get a large coffee with milk and sugar, but they somehow make it exactly the way I like it. Every time.
Eight
I made fried rice last Friday and it was so good! I've got it on my menu for next week.
Nine
Date nights. I just went through a 2015 calendar and tried to plan out a date night for each month. Even if it's just a movie after the kids are in bed- it's so good to have that time with my husband.
Ten
Only a week left of school before Christmas break! It will be nice to have some lazy days.
Friday, December 12, 2014
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Just a regular Thursday
I drink a cup of coffee every afternoon around 2. So, that's what I'm doing right now. Sam is napping and Rose is playing some abc game on my phone while Curious George plays on the TV. Even with the noise of the TV and the game I consider this quiet and it's nice to just sit down and drink my coffee in relative peace.
I've thought about this little blog often and think it's time to try it again. I keep saying that and not doing it, but I just find other things that need to be done. However, I really like being able to look back at my old posts and see what was happening- it's like a journal. I've tried to journal before and it never works out, so I'm going to try it here.
Today I took the boys to school. Tim usually takes them to school, but Thursdays are my days because he has an early conference call at work. We are no strangers to having to find things (glasses, library books, coats, the other shoe!) at the last minute before we leave. Today it was Ry's glasses. (Oh! That reminds me, he lost a tooth while he was asleep last night and we couldn't find that either... it's possible he swallowed it. I guess he has to write a note to the tooth fairy.) So, we couldn't find his glasses. We left without them and I was so frustrated. I kept remembering that he had popped the lens out on the way home from school yesterday and I had fixed it in the car and handed them back to him. I searched the car, I tore apart the boys' room, looked in random places with no luck. Finally I remembered that I had thrown a bunch of junk mail and old church bulletins in a grocery bag that was trashing up the car and thought I should check it. I opened that bag (that I would have tossed in the garbage can this morning if we had left early) and there were his glasses. I'm just relieved I found them and they weren't broken.
I think I mentioned in a post a while back that I started doing all my housework stuff before noon. It worked really well until school started and things got chaotic. Last week I started back to that schedule and it has been good. I also finally took Tim's advice (after many years of him suggesting this) and paired down our plates, bowls and cups to one per person and the others are packed away. Everyone is in charge of washing their own stuff after meals (except Sam). I usually wash the kids' breakfast dishes (unless they are really on the ball), but it has made kitchen clean up much easier for me.
Sam is up from her nap and I'm getting ready to pick up the boys. Adios for now.
I've thought about this little blog often and think it's time to try it again. I keep saying that and not doing it, but I just find other things that need to be done. However, I really like being able to look back at my old posts and see what was happening- it's like a journal. I've tried to journal before and it never works out, so I'm going to try it here.
Today I took the boys to school. Tim usually takes them to school, but Thursdays are my days because he has an early conference call at work. We are no strangers to having to find things (glasses, library books, coats, the other shoe!) at the last minute before we leave. Today it was Ry's glasses. (Oh! That reminds me, he lost a tooth while he was asleep last night and we couldn't find that either... it's possible he swallowed it. I guess he has to write a note to the tooth fairy.) So, we couldn't find his glasses. We left without them and I was so frustrated. I kept remembering that he had popped the lens out on the way home from school yesterday and I had fixed it in the car and handed them back to him. I searched the car, I tore apart the boys' room, looked in random places with no luck. Finally I remembered that I had thrown a bunch of junk mail and old church bulletins in a grocery bag that was trashing up the car and thought I should check it. I opened that bag (that I would have tossed in the garbage can this morning if we had left early) and there were his glasses. I'm just relieved I found them and they weren't broken.
I think I mentioned in a post a while back that I started doing all my housework stuff before noon. It worked really well until school started and things got chaotic. Last week I started back to that schedule and it has been good. I also finally took Tim's advice (after many years of him suggesting this) and paired down our plates, bowls and cups to one per person and the others are packed away. Everyone is in charge of washing their own stuff after meals (except Sam). I usually wash the kids' breakfast dishes (unless they are really on the ball), but it has made kitchen clean up much easier for me.
Sam is up from her nap and I'm getting ready to pick up the boys. Adios for now.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Here's a little something
Each and every time I open up "new post" I'm hit with a little bit of anxiety. I guess because I'm out of the routine and the once familiarity of sitting to write now feels foreign. There's only one way to get back into the habit and that is to just begin again. And so I will try.
Life is speeding along no matter how hard I try to resist acknowledging that fact. The boys are loving school. They are so smart. They are also fairly confident, which I love, because I never was. It always makes my day to hear about them talk about their friends and what they learned. The kindergarten-3rd grade choir sang last week and there were two (short) solo parts- Ry had one of them. You can probably imagine what proud parents look like... we were prouder! I actually teared up when he sang his part and it took a lot of concentration to not start full on crying.
The girls are sweet and also little button pushers. I am certain Rose is going through a growth spurt because she's going through a hungry/cranky/tired-but-won't-nap phase. She's almost 5. That's is incredible. She's hilarious. Last night (after a trying afternoon with her) as I was slumped over on the couch she asked, "Mommy, do you feel okay? Is your back hurting you?" I answered honestly, "No, my back is fine, it's just my patience." Rose, "Oh, but you've been SO patient today!" And I couldn't do anything but laugh.
That reminds of something D did yesterday. I had a urge to paint and so I attempted some watercolor paintings of a cardinal and a bluebird. I thought I did ok for a first try and decided to give my paintings to the boys. When D saw the cardinal he told me it looked good, but instead of just telling him thank you I proceeded to tell him how it wasn't that great, but it was just the first time I had painted a bird. His response was, "Oh, well I can teach you how to draw. I'm really good at art." See, confidence. About 15 minutes later he hands me a color drawing of a cardinal that made me feel pretty dumb about thinking my painting was any good. That kid was right; he is good at art.
Life is speeding along no matter how hard I try to resist acknowledging that fact. The boys are loving school. They are so smart. They are also fairly confident, which I love, because I never was. It always makes my day to hear about them talk about their friends and what they learned. The kindergarten-3rd grade choir sang last week and there were two (short) solo parts- Ry had one of them. You can probably imagine what proud parents look like... we were prouder! I actually teared up when he sang his part and it took a lot of concentration to not start full on crying.
The girls are sweet and also little button pushers. I am certain Rose is going through a growth spurt because she's going through a hungry/cranky/tired-but-won't-nap phase. She's almost 5. That's is incredible. She's hilarious. Last night (after a trying afternoon with her) as I was slumped over on the couch she asked, "Mommy, do you feel okay? Is your back hurting you?" I answered honestly, "No, my back is fine, it's just my patience." Rose, "Oh, but you've been SO patient today!" And I couldn't do anything but laugh.
That reminds of something D did yesterday. I had a urge to paint and so I attempted some watercolor paintings of a cardinal and a bluebird. I thought I did ok for a first try and decided to give my paintings to the boys. When D saw the cardinal he told me it looked good, but instead of just telling him thank you I proceeded to tell him how it wasn't that great, but it was just the first time I had painted a bird. His response was, "Oh, well I can teach you how to draw. I'm really good at art." See, confidence. About 15 minutes later he hands me a color drawing of a cardinal that made me feel pretty dumb about thinking my painting was any good. That kid was right; he is good at art.
Friday, August 22, 2014
August
I've got to say, if your kids are super uninterested in learning letters/numbers or can't remember what letters look like at 3-4 years old... go get their vision checked. Our pediatrician does a little eye chart exam at 5 years old, but for us that was too late and I had already caught the boys eye problems and were seeing an optometrist. I caught Rose's vision problems pretty early. One, she wouldn't sit on the couch to watch tv or movies. She had to be close to the screen. Two, after spending an ample amount of time learning about a letter she couldn't pick it out on a page with other letters no matter how many times we tried. (She could pick out T, O and X) Three, after both boys needing glasses and the family history I was watching a lot more closely. The optometrist was impressed that I had caught it so early. Four, I had a gut feeling she wasn't seeing clearly. Trust that feeling.
We went on our 2nd annual trip to Schlitterbahn to reward the kids for completing their swim lessons and to celebrate our anniversary. This year was our 10th anniversary! It has gone by so fast and time's not slowing down. It's amazing what has happened in 10 years and I'm so glad I got to live those years with my best friend by my side. It makes me excited for the next 10!
Monday, July 7, 2014
Oh, July
I have a few goals for the next 2 weeks. I want to go through all of our clothes, organize the kitchen cabinets and go through and organize the kids' toys. That's a lot of organizing. I don't know if I'll get it all done when I want to, but I'm going to try.
This morning the kids (except Sam) went to VBS. They were so excited when I picked them up. They were telling me all about what they did; D and Ryan got to be in a skit and they all got these little yellow foam submarines, so on the way home they were singing "we all live in a yellow submarine".
I haven't read a book in a few months, so I'm going to start The Hiding Place tonight. The boys and I are learning a lot and having fun with Taekwondo. Our first belt test is in a few weeks and I'm nervous about it. I need to practice more at home because I keep forgetting the second part of our pattern, but thankfully I have our manual that gives step by step instructions! I think I'm going to sign the kids up for soccer camp at the end of the month. I'm not really into soccer, especially in late July and August in Texas. Talk about hot, but one child in particular has repeatedly asked to play soccer for about 2 years. Something has always come up or we missed the deadline to sign up, however, this year I got smart and found out early about the dates. Ok, I gotta feed all the mouths!
This morning the kids (except Sam) went to VBS. They were so excited when I picked them up. They were telling me all about what they did; D and Ryan got to be in a skit and they all got these little yellow foam submarines, so on the way home they were singing "we all live in a yellow submarine".
I haven't read a book in a few months, so I'm going to start The Hiding Place tonight. The boys and I are learning a lot and having fun with Taekwondo. Our first belt test is in a few weeks and I'm nervous about it. I need to practice more at home because I keep forgetting the second part of our pattern, but thankfully I have our manual that gives step by step instructions! I think I'm going to sign the kids up for soccer camp at the end of the month. I'm not really into soccer, especially in late July and August in Texas. Talk about hot, but one child in particular has repeatedly asked to play soccer for about 2 years. Something has always come up or we missed the deadline to sign up, however, this year I got smart and found out early about the dates. Ok, I gotta feed all the mouths!
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
I keep forgetting this thing
My mom laughed when I told her we were going to sleep in hammocks. And I would expect most people would laugh at that. Who would give up a conventional spring mattress that makes you toss and turn to sleep in a gently swaying, pressure free, brain stimulating hammock? I've been reading hammock forums and research and although I wasn't into the idea at first I'm seriously considering it now. And I don't see any harm in trying it. That's how I am about a lot of things. Unless, of course, trying something requires a lot of money, then we'll just stick to what we're doing. Anyhow, if we do end up trying out the hammock thing I'll have to write a post about it.
The kids are in swim lessons. Rose jumped off the diving board for the first time today. Jumped is the wrong word. She sat down on the end of it and her instructor held her hand and kind of pulled her in. Everyone cheered for her and later she told me she was brave. She really is.
I think the kids are all just about asleep for naps which means I have to run out and paint a bed frame. Maybe I'll take some before and after pictures. And maybe I'll remember I have a blog again.
The kids are in swim lessons. Rose jumped off the diving board for the first time today. Jumped is the wrong word. She sat down on the end of it and her instructor held her hand and kind of pulled her in. Everyone cheered for her and later she told me she was brave. She really is.
I think the kids are all just about asleep for naps which means I have to run out and paint a bed frame. Maybe I'll take some before and after pictures. And maybe I'll remember I have a blog again.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Why Not?
Four months later....
So, maybe I abandoned the blog on purpose. I just didn't think my life was interesting enough that anyone would want to read about it. And it's busier with kids in school, a four year old with strong opinions (and a temper- don't know where she got that from) and a one year old that climbs on everything. I would rather read and zone out when I can than try to articulate anything that's remotely close to what I'm feeling. Sometimes words are not my forte.
The truth is, I don't really care if anyone reads this. I'm going to keep on documenting the daily grind, the ever predictable routine.... it's like the "song that goes on and on my friends". I will probably enjoy looking back on this in 18 years when all my kids have graduated from high school and wonder if I remember the little years accurately. Like when I go shopping and even though 90% of the time it's fairly easy and no one has any meltdowns, sometimes going to Costco turns out to be a real pain. However, there's samples galore there and even though my little toddler girl insists on being carried half the time which makes pushing a loaded basket difficult, if I let her eat all the strawberries she wants from the 4 pound container I got solely for her it turns out okay. She looks like a total mess at the checkout, but she's not screaming.
My super consistent schedule has been altered with the loss of my washing machine. It was with us for a good ten years and worked really hard. But, without a washing machine I have been loading up only the necessary items and using my mom's laundry room until we get a new machine and..... a brand new laundry room!! The room is framed out and I am so very excited! But the clothes be piling up like Mt. Everest anyway.
If I end up talking about laundry then it's time to stop writing for the day. (Obviously when the laundry room is finished and I am partying with a new washing machine that will need a post.) This post brought to you by Curious George, bananas and weird determination to keep on keepin' on.
So, maybe I abandoned the blog on purpose. I just didn't think my life was interesting enough that anyone would want to read about it. And it's busier with kids in school, a four year old with strong opinions (and a temper- don't know where she got that from) and a one year old that climbs on everything. I would rather read and zone out when I can than try to articulate anything that's remotely close to what I'm feeling. Sometimes words are not my forte.
The truth is, I don't really care if anyone reads this. I'm going to keep on documenting the daily grind, the ever predictable routine.... it's like the "song that goes on and on my friends". I will probably enjoy looking back on this in 18 years when all my kids have graduated from high school and wonder if I remember the little years accurately. Like when I go shopping and even though 90% of the time it's fairly easy and no one has any meltdowns, sometimes going to Costco turns out to be a real pain. However, there's samples galore there and even though my little toddler girl insists on being carried half the time which makes pushing a loaded basket difficult, if I let her eat all the strawberries she wants from the 4 pound container I got solely for her it turns out okay. She looks like a total mess at the checkout, but she's not screaming.
My super consistent schedule has been altered with the loss of my washing machine. It was with us for a good ten years and worked really hard. But, without a washing machine I have been loading up only the necessary items and using my mom's laundry room until we get a new machine and..... a brand new laundry room!! The room is framed out and I am so very excited! But the clothes be piling up like Mt. Everest anyway.
If I end up talking about laundry then it's time to stop writing for the day. (Obviously when the laundry room is finished and I am partying with a new washing machine that will need a post.) This post brought to you by Curious George, bananas and weird determination to keep on keepin' on.
Friday, January 24, 2014
ten happy things friday
It has been a few months. Sorry for the long blog silence... I can't promise I'll post before another 4(ish) months go by, but I'll try.
One
It's Friday! It snowed the tiniest bit overnight and everything iced over and school was cancelled! It was a fun day here.
Two
A new job (for Tim) that's closer to home.
Three
I really like my life. I like my house, small it may be, but it is perfect in its own way. My kids drive me crazy and it's wonderful. My husband works so hard for us and makes me so happy.
Four
Books! I read 3 books in the past 2 weeks and they were great. I weirdly feel a little lost after the kids go to bed I have no book to read. Any recommendations I would appreciate.
Five
I think my ultimate comfort food is mashed potatoes and gravy. There are many evenings that I'm trying to work mashed potatoes into dinner. If only they went well with tacos.
Six
Organizing things. Browsing an uncrowded Ikea on a Wednesday was actually relaxing. Maybe I have actually lost my mind for good this time.
Seven
Costco. I know I'm late to the crowd here, but wow, the savings are awesome. Not everything is cheaper, but the savings on two items alone are worth the membership.
Eight
2014 looks promising. I don't make resolutions at the start of new years.... I just make them whenever I feel like I need a change. Why wait until a new year to start bettering yourself?
Nine
There are two parts in church that I like the most... the promise of forgiveness at the beginning and the benediction at the end.
Ten
Listening to music. Music is such a great therapy. The harmonies and melodies. The riffs and choruses and the unexpected departures from them... it's soothing.
One
It's Friday! It snowed the tiniest bit overnight and everything iced over and school was cancelled! It was a fun day here.
Two
A new job (for Tim) that's closer to home.
Three
I really like my life. I like my house, small it may be, but it is perfect in its own way. My kids drive me crazy and it's wonderful. My husband works so hard for us and makes me so happy.
Four
Books! I read 3 books in the past 2 weeks and they were great. I weirdly feel a little lost after the kids go to bed I have no book to read. Any recommendations I would appreciate.
Five
I think my ultimate comfort food is mashed potatoes and gravy. There are many evenings that I'm trying to work mashed potatoes into dinner. If only they went well with tacos.
Six
Organizing things. Browsing an uncrowded Ikea on a Wednesday was actually relaxing. Maybe I have actually lost my mind for good this time.
Seven
Costco. I know I'm late to the crowd here, but wow, the savings are awesome. Not everything is cheaper, but the savings on two items alone are worth the membership.
Eight
2014 looks promising. I don't make resolutions at the start of new years.... I just make them whenever I feel like I need a change. Why wait until a new year to start bettering yourself?
Nine
There are two parts in church that I like the most... the promise of forgiveness at the beginning and the benediction at the end.
Ten
Listening to music. Music is such a great therapy. The harmonies and melodies. The riffs and choruses and the unexpected departures from them... it's soothing.
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