Happy Tuesday

We just had a smooth morning of getting ready and out the door.  I am sitting here with time to spare it feels like.  I think that it is not time but my mood is easy going.  I did not have to get onto kids by repeating myself over and over....and over.

Get dressed, brush your teeth, stop playing, get dressed, leave your brother alone, brush your teeth, get dressed, breakfast is at the table, let the dog out, get dressed, tie your shoes, ask Dad to comb your hair, leave the toys alone, get dressed, please eat, no you can do that, get dressed......whew just typing this out is exhausting!

How do we do this Monday-Friday? More importantly, I am asking myself how do I do this in a peaceful manner?

1. Layout clothes the night before.
2. Remind kids that in the morning we have to get ready. (they may forget in their sleep)
3. Wake up with enough time to not be so groggy ...there will be a day that kids will wake up before me and get ready.  Right?!
4. Plan out lunch boxes the night before.
5. Pray, pray,pray

The thing though is that at night I just want them to go to bed so when the house is finally settled I do not want to prep.....ugh the cycle!

But you know what? I love my life....I love these kids and I will continue to find ways to show them love even through repetitious mornings.

Hope your enjoying some quiet time as your reading this.

Happy Tuesday

Cooking for my son

All right so I would tease my husband so much when it would come to his mom cooking for him.  For years she would come visit and cook all of 'my son's favorites'.  She would ensure that I knew what he liked and possibly tried to teach me how to cook them.  However the thing is, he did not like them anymore.

As the years have gone by since I first meet my husband his taste buds have changed...drastically changed!  However the moment my mother in law would arrive it was all about 'my mom's cooking.' Blah..really?!  I would sit there at the kitchen table and think what a mama's boy. Or even think, wow Bobby can just say hi and she has whipped an entire meal of his "favorite" stuff.  She is a fantastic cook, a real gift in the kitchen and she can have a whole spread in 5 minutes.  She can spend all day cooking something but if any of her children or grandchildren do not like it she will make them something they do like.  I am far from all that especially the I will make you something because you do not like what I made.  I cook it, you eat it no excuse!

BUT...this year my older son started walking in saying he liked something encouraging me to find a way to cook it.  Now before I go on I will not budge from I cook it, you eat it no excuse.  My kids have learned that we do no ask for something else other then what is on our plates when we sit down.  I will cater to their tastes when I am cooking but not when I am done. Off the soap box and back to my story of me becoming like my mother in law when it comes to my son.  I have tried several new recipes because he likes something. I love it when he tells me that dinner was delicious or even better asking for seconds! Ahhh the things our kids can do to us....I am mush now after kids.

Why I am saying all of this? Because I got an email this morning with a recipe for homemade pot stickers and thought "oh I must try this for Alex!" So my simple inspired moment today is, for my son I will try new things.  

What moment today will inspire you to try something new? Be open...

Testimony

My husband and I were faced with a possible decision to make yesterday.  It wasn't a life changing kinda of decision but as we talked it out it became a matter of our testimony.  Our testimony to our kids and people around us.  I am using the word testimony but I know that many people get lost in thinking it refers to a religious meaning.   I could say it would affect our reputation or how people percieve us. I like the meaning though, that we do declare, advertise our faith.

Testimony:  evidence in support of a fact or statement; proof.open declaration (advertisement of belief or acknowledgment) or profession, as of faith.

We could have made our decsion on one hand with the right to.  After letting some of the emotions settle, I realized that even though we have the right it, would not give a declaration, an advertisement, a testimony to who we are.  We tell our kids that we love all people, that we are friends to everyone and that we should respect everyone.  Our actions do influence our kids and if we do not take decisions that reflect our belief then we are giving a false testimony.  Sure the kids might not ever know that we considered making this decision but the adults around us would. By all means it would have been understood and even expected for us to do so. However there is a bigger picture with a bigger purpose in front of us.

What an opportunity to show that we believe, that we trust and stand confident in the bigger picture.  Granted if needed we will speak up but as we saw last night we have not been given a reason to.  Quite opposite we have been given the ability to show a good testimony of giving other people around us a chance!

What a lesson for the kids to learn...yet I am the one that is learning!

Easy Going Friday

Today has been a great day! It has been an easy going Friday.  One month ago we left for our family vacation to visit my husband's family, during this time we have not been all together at home like today.  This is probably what has made this day enjoyable.  

Our Friday really started last night when my husband went to the Batman Marathon to celebrate my brother's birthday. (How unfortunate to wake up to such devastating news regarding the shooting in Colorado)

He left yesterday afternoon which actually allowed me to get cleaning, laundry and house stuff back in order.  After kids went to bed it was like I drank some kind of energy drink because I stayed up until Bobby came home enjoying some 'me time'.  You kinda wake up in a good mood when you go to bed with a sense of accomplishment!

So with coffee in hand and strawberry whole wheat pancakes in my belly I was set to conquer the day! With Delisa in tow we headed to week two's class of TCU's Summer Reading Program.  Delisa ended Pre-K being able to read easy reader, sight word books.  But today she really impressed me with how much she can 'read'!

Round two began the moment I got home and Bobby left to take Alex to his Summer Reading class.  As I made our afternoon snack I figured it would be a good afternoon to try something new knowing that the kids probably get tired of milk and water.  I found this drink powder filled with fruits and vegetables as an option for a healthy drink.  It was a hit!  Nothing like kids with a full satisfied stomach because I have been writing this post with no interruptions! 

Despite the short night I have felted rested but I am thinking we will just hibernate at home tonight and continue to enjoy the easiness of the  day.

Happy Friday! 

'Publish'

The only way to get back into blogging is to just sit here and write.  So with really no post in mind I am  typing my rambling so that I can hit 'Publish'.....

It is summer, I thought my time would be flowing in abundance with spare time oozing at the end of every day!  I have not done what I wanted to other then to be with my kids. 

   Last Friday we enjoyed an afternoon of sun and water at the YMCA. It filled my heart with a peace to just stop and enjoy the kids.  

Swimming is the constant thing we do almost daily. 

 I am surprised at how well and easy going I have been with all that it entails in taking kids to the pool. 

 Did you know they grow up?!

  .....yep that realization settled deep in my heart this summer that they are growing up. 

*sigh*

Living Room Dance Party

We have been enjoying this new 'trend' in our home of just dancing around with the kids.  This act of jumping around silly with no beat at times is such a great way to build small moments that create memories.  Sure the kids at first just starred at me as I danced, or should I say wiggled around calling it dancing, but they love it now!

There are plenty times where the kids see the disciplinary side of us so it is good to let them see us be silly with them  This allows for them to flourish in their personality with no reservation. Believe it or not I have a good amount of sanguine in me but because of how I was raised I am far more reserved. Take your husband out on your living room dance floor because that is a moment you can have for your relationship too.

Really it is simple, there are no rules, there are no certain songs or even time of the day. Whether it be one song or 5 songs go for it have a dance party because overall and most importantly it is about creating a family that share memories together!

Wordless Wednesday on Thursday!

For the past years my husband and I have not had the kind of summer we are having as either we worked at Discovery Camp or we did not have school age kids.  With this being our "first Summer" since Alex graduated to First grade we are having loads of water fun!  They seem to want to play with water everyday.....

Wonderful Weekend

Wonderful:  unusually good, admirable

This was Mother’s Day weekend and I had a wonderful one! I enjoyed my day to the fullest as we stayed home due to pink eye.  I honestly could not have enjoyed it any other way as I was stress free and in such a good mood doing what I like to do.

As we look at the meaning of the word ‘Wonderful’ in the dictionary we find the word admirable.  Almost strange to think that when we say wonderful we are saying admirable.  I had a wonderful weekend filled with love, courage, peace and yes admiration!

Admiration in my husband in his patience with me! Patience with me as I go through my growing up and stretching that is brought through motherhood.  Admiration in how he loves me, how he loves the kids and how he loves our families.  I have not only the best husband but an admirable one, a wonderful husband!

Admiration that is continuous in my children who have such docile hearts towards what is front of them.  So many times I let myself get bothered, angry, frustrated, and saddened by the day in and day out of kids.   We all want ‘wonderful’ children and you know when I think of wonderful being admirable then I have that in my kids.  They are so admirable as they are not complacent in life, they are admirable as they love so purely, they are admirable as they trust me their mom!  At the end of each night when we kiss them goodnight my heart is full of admiration for my wonderful kids, my wonderful family!

I had a wonderful weekend thanks to the admiration I have for my husband and kids!

Motherhood should come with...

Linking up with Gypsy Mama's blog 5 minute Friday : Motherhood Should Come with....

• Got five minutes? Let’s write. Let’s write in shades of real and true and unscripted.

• Let’s just write and not worry if it’s just right or not.

Write for 5 minutes flat for pure unedited love of the written word.

 Go

Love, joy, instructions, patience?  How do we fill that in? We need them all but maybe because of where I am today I would say understanding.  Understanding for each person around and affected by motherhood.  As mother we know that there is change, a growth within us towards ourselves and for those that know us.  Husbands do not seem to go through this ever so quick in your face change so we need understanding.  We need understanding on both sides, me to him and him to me.  Understanding towards the kids as we were them once, making our parents late because we thought putting a shirt on a teddy bear was important.  I do not remember trying to make my parents late on purpose or even them getting on to me to hurry so with that I have to understand that the three kids before me are not doing anything on purpose.  I do not understand motherhood yet except that I love my kids with all my heart.  I understand that this love I have for them overtakes any other emotion I may experience as ‘what happened to life before kids’ or ‘why is this hard’.  I understand that motherhood is important as I learned so much from my mother who gave me tools to keep my house together.  Even in understanding we may not understand so we just need to trust.  Who do we trust? Each other Motherhood is a full world with many parts that could use understanding in each.  Let us understand through love as love conquers all! 

Stop

Gardening

As we were gardening this afternoon I was not my cool, keep it together self as I have been learning to be.  Kids seemed to just do everything that they could to test me while I was trying to let them be 'kids'.  Well we came to a clash leading to the point of looking within myself.  Parenting is serious business in that it challenges us! Should it not just be that it challenges the kids as we are trying to teach them?!

As I was clearing, raking and prepping the garden box for this spring’s vegetables I was amazed to see there were rocks still in the ground.  Despite these rocks making the soil not perfect condition for vegetables to grow we had tomatoes, carrots, rosemary and basil.  With our kids we found such delight in our homegrown produce that rocks were not even a thought.  Seeing how the soil was imperfect just made our vegetables more impressive because they flourished.  I know that what I have planted will have the same chance of growing and overcoming any rocks as we water and nurture our garden.

As I sit here in bed I cannot stop thinking of how despite the rocks we have within ourselves as parents our kids will grow to be exceptional.  I have said it many times that the most important thing to have in parenting is love.  Love is the water, the nutrient that will grow our children regardless of our shortcomings.  However, as I did today I removed some of these rocks that surfaced, so we must remove our rocks that surface in parenting.
 

In looking within to just admit that we need to adjust who we are yet again requires muscles, strength.  For me I receive that strength from God who said that in my weakness He would be strong.  Boy, do we ever become weak during times of parenting as we are constantly repeating simple instructions!  Let’s allow God’s love and acceptance for us grow you and me into the great parent He knows we are!  Sorry to say it but it is true and bears repeating, there are seasons that come and go.  In these seasons of gardening there is a stirring of soil as it is being prepared for the crop of that season giving opportunity to remove any rocks.  We go through seasons as well and have opportunities for removing rocks from our life too. Parenting then lends for us adults to really improve ourselves, challenge ourselves as ultimately we just want to be the best parent for our kids.... 

Spring break filled with hands on activities

We took some time off last week to take kids to San Antonio for a mini-vacation. Our trip started with Thursday night at my sister-n-law’s house where she greeted us with a homemade dinner.  That was such a treat as I did not have to cook!  We headed out the next day to San Antonio Children’s Museum where kids just had a blast! I love that my kids are into museums and doing arts and crafts.  That brings such a joy to my heart as we must be leading towards things they can learn for themselves and not just all the technology options out there.  After lunch we checked into The Westin La Cantera where we were staying the night.  At our surprise they had things lined out for the kids to do such as more arts and crafts, magic show and movie outside at sunset.  Kids did all that and swam the next day too where they were just so happy.  Do not get me wrong we came on this trip with my brand new iPad 2 and watched some boring fishing show while all cuddle in bed together. However I think that conscience effort we are making in cutting down on TV and media so that they kids can learn is obvious.  During the outdoor movie my kids were more interested in this tree that was great for climbing and sitting on.  I came home with more purpose in seeing my kids develop their minds through activities that promote critical thinking and not being told what to think.