Sunday Daybook

Outside my window…
The sun is just beginning to highlight the sky in the palest of blue

I am thinking…
We need a new dustpan. The current one finally cracked beyond use and the cat just knocked a glass off the dining room table. I have it all swept into a pile but no way to safely deposit it into the trash.
I guess a trip to Walmart or Target is in order.

I am thankful for…
Aaron having a steady and reliable job that meets our needs. Even a few wants. It is so easy to take for granted knowing exactly, down to the penny, what his paycheck will be every other Friday.

From the kitchen…
The most AMAZING roasted cauliflower. The kids went to bed ten minutes late last night because Aaron was standing over the pan and eating it with his fingers after dinner. Recipe to come tomorrow.

I am wearing…
Gray pajama bottoms and a black top. I’m half way between getting ready to leave the house.

I am creating…
That never ending red Coat o’ Doom.
I simply cannot bring myself to talk about it.

I am reading…
Simplicity Parenting. I’m taking it slow, absorbing concepts and trying to come up with ideas how to impliment the concepts in out home.

I am hoping…
for answers to questions this week.

A few plans for the rest of the week…
Tomorrow, NaBloPoMo starts so I am going to try and get ideas flowing for posts. Posting something every single day seems daunting but if I could do it last year with a new born AND being out of town, I can do it again this year. There’s also a ton of sewing I need to accomplish this week. Thankfully my friend and I are in a babysitting trade, so she is coming over on Thursday to watch the kiddos while I slip away upstairs to sew.

Here is picture for sharing…

Trunk Or Treat

We went to a trunk or treat last night and had a blast!  The kids went as Woodstock and Charlie Brown. No action shots, but I took some fun pictures in the backyard before we went. 🙂

Wordless Wednesday: Halloween Costumes

Woodstock on the right, Charlie Brown on the left.

A Birthday Party

Lollipop sugar cookies as party favors. Pain in the neck to make but so cute!

Chocolate vegan cupcakes!

Aaron slaved away over this for two very late nights. I have only to add a little blue and white pinstripe curtain along the bottom. 🙂 This is the before picture.

She was very pleased.

So were her friends. 🙂

 

3rd Birthday Letter

 
Ella, in her self designed birthday dress. of yellow, green, stripes, pockets and number threes

Dear Ella,

Today you turn three! You’re running around, insisting you’re one so that you and brother can match. Then a little grin creeps across your face and you say that you were “just being silly”.

You are fiercely independent yet still rely so heavily on Daddy and I, for which we are both so grateful. Running ahead down the sidewalk on walks, yet stopping to look for us and wait when you come to a corner. Every item on your body must be approved by you but you are content to pick from the choices I offer. The only thing you won’t be swayed from are the names you pick for your babies. The most recent additions to your menagerie are Glinda and Sushi, both teddy bears. What makes me chuckle is how appropriate Sushi’s name is –he’s a panda bear!

The transition you’ve made from toddler to preschooler has been one so gradual, I didn’t notice until yesterday as we were taking pictures of your birthday dress. Only the last vestiges of babyness remain in your face. Your body is long, lanky and knobby. Three quarters of the big couch are taken up when you lay out full length. There is less falling and more twirling.

I hope you keep on twirling. Twirl through your entire life, always seeing the sunny side of things with a smile on your face. Your optimism as a three year old will carry you far through hard grown up times down the road and  I am going to do everything possible to help you maintain this outlook on life.

So much love, my birthday girl.

Mama

Remembering

Today I am remembering the children who have impacted my life, my family and my friends. The children who are no longer with us.

If you’re impacted today by your own personal grief, my heart goes out to you and I wish I could offer you a hug. Know you’re not alone.

 

Every soul that comes into this world comes here with a very specific mission. When that mission is completed, the soul can leave. The holiest of souls need so little time here in this world that some never even make it outside the womb, others only need their heart to beat once, others not even that.

~ Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh ~

Contentment

I often struggle with being discontent. Anxious to move on to the next phase in life, looking forward to the changes just around the next bend, ready to move forward. But there’s a lot of stock to be put into the moment. Where I am right now. Where my family is as a collective whole and where the individual members are in their personal lives. Enriching our lives now instead of plotting how things will be better next month or next year.

I’ve been thinking about the mental and emotional change, trying to put it into play in my life. To be perfectly honest, I’ve been less than successful. I really struggle at finding the balance between the moment or current day and semi long distance planning. With practice, I’m sure this balancing act will get better and eventually become second nature to me.

Until then, I’ll be focusing on this great list of ways to maintain contentment. Here’s to hoping it becomes second nature sooner rather than later.

But there I go again. Focusing on what I want instead of developing what I need right now. Like I said, a long way to go. 🙂

1. Take everything to prayer and meditation. The more time I spend connecting with my Beloved Creator, the more I realize that I am His Beloved, the more smoothly things go. The more I take my worries and anxieties and questions about life, about my children, about where I am going, to prayer, the more peaceful I can be.

2. Before you speak, before you act, think in LOVE first. If you can think in love toward your partner, your children, your relatives, the better things will be. And if you don’t act in love, love yourself and forgive yourself for BEING HUMAN. It is okay to be human, and it is okay to not be perfect. Sometimes perfection is in the striving.

3. Attribute positive intent. If someone is doing something that is challenging you, can you see it from their viewpoint? Can you see it differently? And if not, can you set a boundary on it?

4. Discern the essential. What is your family’s Mission Statement? What kind of adults do you hope your children to be? What would contribute to that? If it is not contributing to that, can you set a boundary on it?

5. Can you pare down? Can you pare down “stuff”? All “stuff” has maintenance, all stuff needs to be taken care of. Can you find the beauty in simplicity? Can you pare down activities?

6. Where is your warmth? If you are thinking in love, you can show emotional warmth toward your family. You can laugh, you can find joy, and you can be content with where you are. It is good enough for right now.

7. Surround yourself with content and positive people. This will really help lift your spirits and keep you on track.

8. Spend time in nature. Nature has a way of making problems seem smaller.

9. Strengthen the ties you have with your partner/spouse. If you can face things together, it is easier to be content with what you have, and easier to be content with what you have.

10. Take care of yourself….your body deserves your attention and time. If you are suffering from poor health or things that will eventually lead to poor health, then you know how hard it is to be peaceful. You have only one body, and there is only one you! You are worthy of your own time and energy!

Found at The Parenting Passageway

Uninspired

I’m feeling terribly uninspired today. Ella’s one tv show for the morning is almost over and I’m dreading it. What are we going to do this morning? I have the kitchen to finish tidying up and that’s about it. We could go outside, but the grass wet and Ella will have a seizure if I suggest stepping in it.

Pulling out beads and stringing them to make necklaces would be fun, but Miles will eat them. Or knock the box over.

Coloring always ends in tragedy. Crayons are digested by the smallest. The oldest sobs when her brother tries to color on her page.

Playdoh? No. Just no.

I know we’ll get things figured out and the ball will start rolling for the day. I’m just feeling uninspired with what to do with the kids. I can’t wait until Miles quits eating everything in his path.

What do you do as a family with young children at drastically different developmental stages?

Wordless Wednesday

2009

2010

Life Is Beautiful

Sometimes, the to do list seems never ending. Not only do diapers always need to be changed, bums needing wiped, dishes washed, food prepared, laundry folded, but there are emotional needs to be met as well. Snuggles when tumbles take place, discussions about feelings, talking about what is kind and what isn’t, fears to ease, laughter to indulge in, work rants to listen to, concerns about the future to put to rest.

It never ends.

Sometimes, I get so incredibly caught up in the needs and emotional well being of everyone else in my family that I forget about myself. I forget that it’s okay to let the kids work things out for 10 minutes while I shower, putting on makeup on a day OTHER than a church day is fine, finding new clothes that flatter isn’t a waste of money, or letting the dishes go in favor of finishing a good book.

Last night, I put myself first. Both kids were asleep and Aaron was home. It was all I could do to not run out the door when my date arrive. Amie and I made a mad dash for the mall where I shopped the heck out of Old Navy, coming away with fabulous deals and flattering, pretty clothes. We had laughter, good conversation, and hugs. Not to mention spending the last of my spending money on delicious root beer from Culvers that we got through the drive through at 9pm at night. We led a wild evening, let me tell you!

I was gone for less than 2 hours, but when I got home my entire life perspective had taken a turn. I was energized, laughing, and feeling good. Going to bed, I expected the euphoria of child free time to wane when I woke but instead, I still felt great. Ready and able to be the best mother I could be.

The same things happen that go on every day. Hugs and kisses exchanged with the kids, fights broken up, food made, laundry shifted from the washer to the dryer. But it been all seen through glasses that have had emotional fatigue wiped away by one simple evening out.

I’m refreshed, my outlook good and I have the smile to prove it.

This is part of The Bigger Picture Moment (a day late).