Attitude Update

I know, I know, you are thinking, "is it really an update if she just told us about it yesterday?" 

Well, yes it is. 

Here's why.

Has anyone ever had someone stop by unannounced, say just after dinner while trying to do the evening scramble to fit in playing, housework, and bedtime?  And is that someone a someone you don't want to see the disaster your house is because you haven't cleaned up the table after dinner and there are toys everywhere?  Oh and do you have your favorite (albeit ugly) pajama pants on?  Yes, yes and yes. . . . I have. . .tonight. 

Did I make a snide comment to said (actually unsaid) person about using a phone?  No.  Did I shut the door in their face?  No.  Did I invite them in and make polite mature conversation?  YES!!!!

Aren't you proud?

Attitude Check

I guess I have always known that my attitude made a difference, but not until being married and even more so with kids, have I begun to see that my attitude seems to be a huge determining factor in if we are going to have a good day or not. 

This past Saturday, my parents came over to help us get stuff up on the walls - finally!  As I sit here typing it is so nice to look around and see pictures and candles and other fun stuff on the walls instead of just walls.  Any who, back to attitude.  The kids slept awful Friday night. . . . honestly I think they know when we have things planned the next day.  SO, I woke up very tired and bitchy slightly cranky.  This proceeded to go downhill during the course of the morning.  Mark & I made snide remarks back and forth (I'm sure my parents were impressed at our communication skills)  until my husband finally had enough at the lunch table and flat out told me he wasn't talking to me for a while after I made some comment.  I pouted for a while (I'm sure my parents were impressed with my maturity) and then decided that some things weren't going to change.  I was going to be tired all day.  Our kids were going to be with us all day and therefore making getting things done around the house a little more challenging.  So, I could change my attitude.  I actually had this whole conversation in my head. . . .and then I proceeded to pout a little more.  I know, you all are amazed at my maturity.

I finally went into the kitchen, apologized to Mark and we ended up having a great rest of the day.  He offered Saturday night to get up with Piper in the middle of the night. . . .what a dear-I love him so much!

This morning, after almost a full night of sleep (I only had to get up to make the bottle!), I woke up very tired and feeling ready to become bitchy slightly cranky.  But then I had the reminder of yesterday (I think God is so cool how He brings things to our remembrance) and I had to consciously think, "I am always going to feel tired and not be able to do everything I want to do-I have 2 small children".  So I determined in my heart to make this day a good attitude day.

My family responds so quickly to my attitude whether it be good or bad.  I am learning that it is my responsibility as a christian, wife, and mom to have a right attitude in the face of the frustrating, exhausting, and sometimes unfair parts of life.  In the same way it is my responsibility to discipline my kids, make sure they get good food and sleep, work at my relationship with my husband, etc. I have the duty to keep my attitude in check. 

It is a work in progress and I may have to re-read this post 100 times, but I will get there!

By the way, we had a GREAT day as a family. . . .hopefully you all are impressed with my attempts at maturity :)!

At least my kid is picking up on attitude ;)

Note:  The only reason this picture is being posted is because it is the only one Mark took of Piper-I am aware of the way I look.  Brilliantly white with stringy hair. . . . wow.  Focus on the cute baby girl in my lap-it's less painful for everyone involved.

Isaac inspecting the wading pool at our friend's house.

From 7:30-8:20pm. . .

. . . is our time alone with Isaac.  Piper is usually sleeping by then and so its just me, Mark & Bubba time.  There is something really sweet and special about getting to dedicate some time with just him, our firstborn.  Now I am not saying at all that he is favored or loved more than Piper or any crazy notion like that-so if you are thinking that I will pause so you can close out of this blog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . okay, back to what I was saying.  Having kids as close together as we did is great in a lot of ways, but I sometimes feel like I (we) miss out on alone time with our kids because of it. 

So, at night we play play doh and/or race track and/or hide under the covers and/or roll a ball off the tape measure (usually all of the above since Isaac's attention span varies) and tonight was especially fun because Isaac wanted to play 'sleep' - so we all climbed in the guest room bed, pulled the covers over us and pretended to sleep.  Isaac thought this was hilarious. . . and Mark & I enjoyed the laying down part. . . it was almost like a mini-vacation!

I have also started to notice when he has more undivided attention he talks in longer sentences and seems to be much more verbal. . . which is hard to imagine since he talks all the time anyways.

A few minutes before Daddy took him back to bed to read books, say prayers, etc., Isaac was sitting in our new $100 chair (another story) and he just looked at me and smiled. . . .then hopped off the chair, walked over and said, "kiss Mommy". . . . .oh how I love this boy.

Why Delighted and Peaceful?

I have been thinking the last few days about the title of my blog and the description of my kids. . . .and being me I have been over thinking it.  Is it a good title, is it a good description of my kids, am I really as scattered as I come across on my blog, and really what is the point of my blog?  Yes, I know. . . over thinking.

So, I thought I would share in both picture and word the answers I have come up with so far.  We went to the lake this weekend to spend time together as a family and with my parents and my brother and his boys.  There were so many fun moments that will forever be hidden away as memories and there were many stressful moments that I am sure I will blog about later. . . and they too will forever be memories.  Life is not only about the fun perfect memories-it is about the mix of the good and the bad and hopefully in the end, there are more good than bad.

Okay, so back to my questions and answers:

Is it a good title?

Looking at this picture, yes I think it is.  No, I am not always feeling delighted and peaceful. . . . some days I can hardly get to sorta happy and not panicked.  But the more I look at my kids and think about the reason I wanted to start a blog, I think I will stick with my title.  It is something for me to strive for to find delight and peace in my life, not only when I look at my kids, but in all areas.

Is this a good description of my kids?

This is Isaac waving to Piper, making her laugh after waking up from his nap in the car.  And yes, he is just sitting there in a t-shirt, diaper, socks and shoes-his shorts got wet at the Mississippi Headwaters.  But this is my son, happy from the moment he wakes up until you try to get him to go to sleep.  He is energetic 100% of the time and always ready to learn something new.  He is a delight in every sense of the word.

This is Piper with her cousin Riley who is 7, soon to be 8.  She sat and played with him (more like him with her) for at least 30 minutes.  She was so content to watch his face and play with a ball and hear him talk to her.  She babbled on and on, the two of them enjoying a nice conversation that only kids can.  She loves being with people and is content to just soak in their presence.  She is content even when active and she has the quickest smile that makes you feel like you are so special to her.  

Do I come across as a scatter brained nut on my posts?

Yes. . . .sometimes, but then again I am scatter brained and a little nutty, so I am just keeping it real!

What is the purpose of my blog?

Need I say anymore?  Well, of course I don't need to, but I will. 

I wanted to start a blog for a number of reasons.  I heard an interview with Kate Goesslin (not sure on spelling and this is not an endorsement for or against her-she has enough issues without me weighing in!) on her new book.  She said she wrote it because she wanted her kids to have something concrete to look back on so they would know what she felt and thought at that point in their lives.  Now, I am not going to turn this into a book, but the idea of the kids having a glimpse of me and our life as a family at this point in our lives appeals to me in so many ways.  I hate my picture being taken (for reasons exhibited in above photo-notice the crazy looking bangs), so I am not in many pictures, but this is a way I can share myself with them.  Make sense?  Oh it doesn't. . . .too bad, it makes sense to me!

Also, writing in my blog gives me the chance to make time for something I have loved to do for a long time but never taken the time to do.  I feel like I owe my reader(s) (I know I always have at least one-Mark!) to post something every day or at least every other. 

So there you have it-even if you didn't want it.  Hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my crazy mind. 

Magazine Junkie

I will admit it. . . I love magazines.  If I had all the money in the world I would have subsciptions to People (yes I know its tacky and full of celebrity mumbo jumbo, but really. . .have you ever not read the cover or flipped through it while standing in line at Walmart for 45 minutes because they only have 2 lines open when there are 1000 people in the store-why don't they open, oh I don't know another 5 lines. . . . at least. . . they have 25 registers. . . what for?????  But I digress-sorry.), Redbook, Allure, Real Simple, Rachel Ray, Ladies Home Journal (no I'm not 90. . . but they have really good articles in there), and on and on and on.

Here's my problem though-I am too broke cheap thrifty to spend the $12-$50/year per magazine subscription, but buying them randomly in the store at $5 a shot seems just crazy too. . . . so I live in this in between world of wishing I could be the proud subscriber to numerous publications, but lo and behold, food for the kids, mortgages, cars, clothes, etc. take precedence for now.  Darn it!

Cart Safety 101 (yes I know this is random, but just indulge me):  Do not let your 4/5 year old son lay face down on the bottom of your Walmart shopping cart.  His desire to touch the wheels will not be quenched by you telling him, "now honey don't touch the wheels".  Only the agonizing pinch of wheel will teach that lesson. . . but really is this lesson worth teaching??  And mom/dad, your response to your screaming child of, "well honey I told you not to touch them" makes me want to punch you in the face. . . and then stick your finger in the wheel.

The Weekend

Yes, I realize it's not the weekend. . .yet, but in anticipation of a fun Father's Day weekend with my family at the lake I thought I would reflect upon why we live for the weekend.

When I was a teenager I loved the weekends.  It meant no school, no homework (at least not until 10pm on Sunday night).  It meant Friday night plans with friends, Saturday sleeping in and cartoons (yes I loved cartoons even then) and then hanging out with friends.  It was how I thought the other 5 days of the week should be lived.

Once I got married, I still loved the weekends.  It meant no work, sleeping in and getting odds and ends (the fun kind like decorating, not cleaning) done around the house.  It meant Saturday morning breakfast at Perkins and random day trips or just driving around looking at houses we would like to one day buy.  It was Sunday morning church followed my Sunday afternoon naps to Nascar (really there is nothing better to nap too).  It was how I thought the other 5 days of the week should be lived.

When we had kids, I LOVED the weekends.  For the first part of Isaac's life I was a stay at home mom-a job I loved in a lot of ways, but learned was not for me in a lot of ways too (a whole diferent story for another time).  But weekends at that time meant HELP!  It meant that I was not the only one responsible for Isaac and I could actually shower and eat without a little person crying or crawling in my lap demanding attention.  But it also meant fun family bonding time.  It was a great time to watch Mark interact with our son and to begin to build family memories.  Once Piper arrived and I knew I would be returning to work, weekends were less about the help (although I still looked forward to it) and more about spending time together as a family.  I realized even before returning to the working world that I needed to spend quality time with the kids and Mark as the amount of time I had with them would soon be limited.

As the kids get a little older and we are able to do more activites, it seems like the weekends get almost as busy as the work week.  I love activities and being on the go, but I hope we never lose the part about weekends I love the most. . . being able to relax, hang out in pajamas and spend quality time with my family. Oh and dream about sleeping in again. . . someday.  After all, that is how the other 5 days should be lived

It Worked!

So, after all my frustration with the email subscription thing. . . IT WORKED!!  I am not sure what I did different to finally get it to work, but hey, I am gonna pretend I knew exactly what I was doing. 

Since I am at work, I will keep this super short-and hopefully this will be one of the last maintenance type posts for a while. . . . .

Happy Wednesday!

A lesson in frustration

So I was trying to be all fancy today and I added the little box to the left of your screen where it says you can subscribe to get an email every time I add a new post. . . and I have tried 4 times to get it to work, but alas it is smarter than me.  The box shows up but so far no updates.  Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am ready to throw the computer through a window.  I hate feeling dumb when it comes to technology, but I have no clue what feeds are and if I want to to be a RSS, Owl, Atom, Bob or whatever (ok so I made Bob up).

AHHHHHHH!!

Okay I am over that for the moment.

Mark & I had an evening out tonight.  Very much needed as we have been a little less than loving towards each other this past week.  Lack of sleep will make you lash out and say the rudest things in the world. . . .I know we hurt the ones we love because they are a safe place but seriously. . . we needed muzzles a few times.

So Grandma and Grandpa came to the rescue and Mark & I had a hot date that consisted of Hobby Lobby (stuff for the kids rooms), Krolls Diner (2 for 1 burger platters including a shake-yummy!) and Barnes & Noble to do my favorite past time. . .READ! 

So funny how kids change so many things, but honestly in regards to what we do on dates, not much has changed.  We have never been the go out to the bars, concerts, night life kind of people.  We have always just really enjoyed being together doing whatever.  I am so glad that this has remained a constant for us.  I think my sister (and others) think I am a bit of a bore in that regard, but we make fun out of whatever we do.  And besides, if we went out for a night on the town it would be an early one because 2 drinks and I am sleeping!!!

What are some favorite date things you like to do?  By the way, I will comment on my own post if no one else does!!!  And keep it PG rated. . . .my kids will read this someday!

Cleaning Christy

Cleaning Christy stopped by for a visit today. . . . CC as I will call her from now on is my split personality that comes out on whenever the house needs cleaning. 

I have the amazing ability of going from a relatively normal, pleasant, some would even say kind person to this obsessed, b***hy, crabby woman Mark has "affectionatley" termed Cleaning Christy.

She would like me to share her thoughts on her behavior-and for the record I am not saying she is right or normal or anything. . . I am just letting you see CC's side of the story.

A little history about how CC came into existence:

I hate to clean-with a passion.  Remember those lists you would make about what would you do if you won the lottery or made a million dollars?  My list always had a cleaning lady on it. . . . I would pass up new cars, massages, clothes, etc. to have a cleaning lady.

Have I mentioned that we have 2 kids. . . . and a dog. . . and my husband & I both work full time outside the home.  And we have moved 3 times since August 2009. . . .

So our house looks like this:








Did you really think I would post a picture of what our house looks like right now??????  I am all for being open and honest, but seriously you must be crazy to think I would be THAT open and honest.  Just know that my house looks nothing like any magazine cover, HGTV design star, Martha Stewart, you name it show. 

It looks lived in. . . . as in 4 college guys lived in who have a thing for legos, trucks and coloring books.

So anyway back to CC stopping by for a visit.  I wanted to get the house a little picked up for our babysitter that was coming over at noon today. . . . and we got home from church at 10:45.  Enough said, right? 

In CC's defense, it is just hard to even remotely know where to begin when all she sees is toys everywhere with no place to go.  Bare walls from having "just" moved in 2 months ago.  A kitchen full of dirty dishes and an odd assortment of toys, paperwork and candy on the counter that can't seem to find a home anywhere else.  Clothes (clean though) everywhere since we lack closet space and the time to organize a better solution. 

CC just gets so frustrated because when do you find time to 'keep house' when you work 40 hours/week and then you get home and want to spend time with your kids because you only get to see them for 3 hours/day?  Once they are in bed, all CC has energy for is a shower (maybe) and then off to bed because CC knows one of her beloved kids will be up sooner than later and for who knows how long (see previous post). . . so she need what sleep I can get. 

CC has no time/energy to settle in and yet is tired of living like this move is temporary (and its not, I vow to not move again for at least 5 years). . . . . and frankly, so am I.

So, Cleaning Christy came for a visit today.  She is gone now but until I win the lottery or have kids who sleep through the night (and the odds are about even on either one), I am sure she will be back.

Sleep. . . remind me what that is again?

I have always needed sleep. . . maybe more than the average bear, but really, if I don't get a decent 7-8 hours of sleep on a regular basis my emotions, body, mind, etc. goes on a very fast downward spiral resulting in crying, headaches, not remembering what day of the week it is. . . you get the idea. 

I knew this prior to having kids.  But somewhere in my mind I figured that after the first couple weeks (oh how little I knew) my kid(s) would sleep for 10 straight hours every night, peacefully in their own beds. 

I.

Was.

WRONG!

Isaac, being our beloved first born, has a very strong personality.  He is a super happy kid, but also very observant and curious about the world (read: has to be a part of everything).  From the moment he was born he has not liked sleep.  I know a lot of you ( all 1 of you that read this blog) are thinking I am exaggerating, but honestly at the hospital the nurses would bring him to me in the middle of the night every 1 1/2 hours to eat.  Cluster feeding they called it. . .little did they know that this would be a pattern for him for the next month.  Then we were fortunate enough to have Isaac sleep for. . .  3 hours at a time.  Ahh. . . and I would hear friends talking about their little brats angels sleeping through the night at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 12 weeks, etc. 

I held on to the hope that at the magical 4 month mark Isaac would sleep through the night like our pediatrican said some high percentage (I heard majority) of kids do.  I will give you one guess as to if Isaac slept through the night by that time. . . .

NO!

I could bore you with the 24 months of sleep and lack thereof and every method in the world that we have tried, but I will leave you with this.

Isaac sleeps through the night about once a week. . . he's 2. . . .

Oh and did I mention I have an 8 month old. . . who doesn't sleep through the night either. . . but she only gets up once to eat. . . so she's ok. . . for now.

Sleep, where art thou???

In the beginning

Since this blog is dedicated to my babies and my hubby too (since without him there would be no babies), I thought I would post some pictures from the first few days of their lives.  Not the gross ones that shouldn't even be taken, much less shared, but the sweet ones where the little babes sleep all the time - you know the moment before they start to sleep when you want them to be awake and then they are awake when you want them to sleep.  Oh the joys . . . .  but in all honesty it is hard to remember back to when they were this little and it was not that long ago. . . they are still 'little'.

Okay, so ignore how bad I look and look at little Bubba. . . so sweet!  This is our first picture together and probably one of only a handful since mommy doesn't like getting her picture taken!

And this is Bubba showing that even from an early age, all he wants is peace (note the fingers if you don't get my attempt at a joke).

Isaac Piper laying so peacefully. . . looking exactly like her brother.  At this point I think I was still in shock that we now had 2 babies under the age of 2. . . 16 1/2 months apart to be exact!

Here she is all ready to go home-thankfully we got to leave the hospital a lot sooner than we did with Bubba-there is only so much you can take on a tiny room, uncomfortable bed and nurses to help with everything. . . okay so the last part I could have used more of, but you get my point. . .I think.

Here is my crew a few weeks after Piper was born. . . . you will have to excuse Mark's tired expression-that's just how we look from then until they turn 18 and move out. . . I hope (for both-to not look tired and that they move out!).

Fast forward. . . here they are now!  Bubba is 2 and Pipsqueak is 8 months. . . . my how time flies.  Before you know it I will be posting their high school graduations!