Happy Days

Ahhhh life. So last week seemed just crazy busy, and next week is gonna be way worse. But it was a good week anyway. Hubby and I both worked our tails off as usual--I work two days per week and he works the rest--and then of course was the usual grocery shopping, errand running, laundry doing, etc.  The biggest news though was that we got a new apartment! It is modest by some standards, but exactly what we wanted--washer&dryer in unit, dishwasher, two bedrooms, nice little balcony, and a park and grocery store BOTH within walking distance!  Next week I'm working four days as the other hygienist is going to Hawaii, and of course I have to start packing. Moving day is April 25th, and I have a long list of things to do; normally I really hate moving but this time I'm actually looking forward to it. Do you know I'm going to gain at least two extra hours every day just by having a dishwasher; can you imagine all the writing and cross-stitching and scrapbooking I'm going to get done?! Oh and I will be able to start practicing my violin again! And...well I better stop adding things into that time because I will be out of time before I even get the time :)
Anyhow, I better get off my duff now, because I have a large sink-full of dirty dishes...toodle-loo!

About Me :)

FYI: This post may sound a bit rambling, but that is my brain today. And I dare say, that is many Mamas' brains on many days. I need to fold the laundry, I love my babies so much, I wish the dog would quit shedding, and when we get to take an actual vacation I want to go to Italy, and Oh Look--there's a spot on the wall I should get up and scrub. Sound familiar?

So here are a few things about me, in no particular order.
1. When we take a real vacation I want to go to Italy. Yes I want to go someplace tropical, but I really want to go to Italy.
2. We have an older lovable dog who sheds/grows more hair with every passing year--why can't dogs' hair get thinner as they age like humans???
3. I want a lot of kids, and I mean pretty much as many as I can have till I get too old, then we will adopt. Do you remember reading "Jo's Boys"? She had this huge house filled with kids who hollered all day and needed lots of love; the thought of a home like that makes me feel so happy inside.
4. Related to the above comment, I am not one who naturally has patience; I guess God will help me learn that one over time :)
5. Don't think I am one of those ladies who always has a smile on my perfectly madeup face in the morning who is ready to attack the day with all of my never-ending energy. Nope, my hubby will tell you I am beginning to get more human after I have sat for a half hour with my large mug of coffee.
6. I am tired a lot; (I "blame" that on my two-year-old BOY with endless energy) but I accomplish a lot because I can never (rarely) sit still and do nothing--until I am too tired to move and then I just collapse, tears may or may not be present at that point. And then I wonder if I can ever be a good mother because I can't just keep going endlessly and my sweet hubby reminds me that if only I would take breaks a bit more often I wouldn't collapse.
7. I can't just sit; hence me sitting here typing on Sunday afternoon because I do believe it should be my day of rest and I have no energy to wash dishes.
8. I want a house with a white picket fence surrounding a green lawn edged with an old-fashioned cottage style garden. When we buy a house, my hubby knows that if it doesn't come with a white picket fence that he will be installing one on his first free weekend. :)
9. Really really wanting another baby today. Really trying to just put a little more faith in God's timing on that one.
10. There is a blue purse I saw at JCPenney yesterday that I really want cause it will go so nicely with the blue strappy heels I bought a couple months ago; meant to buy it on my way back out of the store, but made the mistake of shopping in heels, and my feet were in so much pain that I forgot.
11. "I forgot" is a phrase my hubby hears from me more often than he wants to; I gotta work on not saying that so often in front of Boy or he will likely start using it...  My memory went when I got pregnant with him and has gone downhill from there; but he doesn't get that excuse, in my opinion :)
12. I think you are probably bored by now. Or have a kid emptying the pop-up tissues box, or swishing in the toilet, or something of that nature.

And I'm back, promptly and randomly on January 11th!

Oh wow! I've been very absentee, basically an unannounced and indefinite break to recharge my brain. It felt like November and December just sucked the life right out of me. Not the "stressful holidays" thing, because I love the holidays! I think it was my job; it was not going well and me being generally tired/exhausted anyway, I just couldn't find the gumption to fix things. But then we had nearly two weeks off over Christmas and New Years, and this was my first week back, and I must say it went better. At least the powers that be were happier with me; I don't think I changed much, but things are improving, at least this week, we'll see about next week...   
So my brain feels finally back to writing capacity. And that is not because of a more organized life, trust me! I think I must have just been experiencing writer's block. Anyway, my house is the picture of disarray; we bought a desk for hubby, and it was delivered yesterday. It is now sitting in the middle of the living room because I need to do some organizing/rearranging in the room it will go in. Yes, I have my work cut out for me today! So right now, I am working on my second large mug of coffee while Boy watches Curious George; I told him that when this episode is over, he has to get up and play. Which means Mommy will have to get up and get to work around here... Also, there is a very large batch of dirty dishes in the kitchen. You see, Boy woke up sick on New Year's Day--fever, cough, and general misery. Then it went round our little family--next to Papa and then Mama. I still don't feel up to par, but at least I'm not constantly blowing my nose; however my head feels stuffy and weird, so it would probably be better if it would all drain out. I am thinking right now that I would like to spend the rest of the weekend lounging and getting better but I can't do that; hubby is working the next two days and then I am working the two days after that, so I just gotta drink plenty of tea with honey in it and some airborne and hope I get better. Maybe I will try getting to bed before 11pm--that might help!
Well, Boy is up and running, so I better be too.
See you tomorrow!

A Blog Announcement, and Some Thoughts...

So first of all, I'm done. I officially give up. That's right, I cannot post every day, much less post pictures every day. So my "Project 365" lasted maybe a whole 65 days, and a lot less than that if you count the number of posts... I'm just gonna do my best to have fun on here, because that was the whole original point anyway--me having fun writing and hoping that other people enjoy reading it. I figure it like this: I am not always a prolific person, and if there's anything worse than writing when you have no ideas, it is reading what that person wrote when they had no thoughts swirling around worth putting down: am I right, people?

I do hereby promise never to write when I have no purposeful thoughts.

One thought I did have a few minutes ago was why does Pampers bother making their "Overnight Protection" diapers? In my experience with diapers (considerable especially in the last several months), overnight diapers should hold more pee than regular diapers. It is that way with Huggies. But I honestly cannot tell the difference with the Pampers. Their overnight diapers are no better than the Swaddlers, and I think maybe the Swaddlers are a tiny bit better. Anyway, the Swaddlers are officially the winning diapers here, sooo glad they are in the bigger sizes now!

Also, I made breakfast cookies today, and they were awesome. I found the recipe on someone else's blog via pinterest. I think the only thing I might do different would be to add some dried fruit, like raisins or maybe blueberries (or chocolate chips, but chocolate should not be a normal breakfast ingredient, should it? If I'm going to eat chocolate for breakfast I'll just eat it straight instead of mixing it in to something healthy ;)  ). Also I didn't have any plain yogurt so I just used some peach yogurt; I couldn't tell the difference and hubby certainly hasn't noticed!  But now I am out of oats, raisins and dried blueberries not to mention chocolate chips. Yep I better quit this and go add those things to my list.

AWOL; Busy just being a Mama! (Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #24)

"Hewwo, I'm back!" (Visualize that said by a curly blond 2-year-old boy). I guess I just have to admit to myself that this project is going to more like keeping this blog going for 365 days, as opposed to my original goal of 365 posts in a year. Honestly, I have been just so tired at the end of every day that I just drop on the couch with no thoughts in my brain but what those of whatever show I choose to watch on Netflix puts there.
Complete exhaustion is getting old. Really old. I'm sorry but I'm just being honest. Some days I get discouraged that I'm not "that Mom" that you hear of so often these days on blogs or the impressions you get of what a mom should be like on Pinterest. And then I occasionally find one that reminds me that my daily life is normal; that life as a mom is never "perfect". It is not always homemade bread, whole natural foods that the whole family loves, clean dishes and a shiny kitchen. It is not a always a mom who happily says that she can do "it all" because sleep is optional and she thrives on burning the candle at both ends. Don't get me wrong, it is sometimes those things, and some moms can thrive on 5 hours of sleep each night (but that's not me!). Yes, of course, we all try to feed our families healthy food, and we always try to give our families all of ourselves and more, because that is who we are. We are always trying to do the best we can for our families.
Here is what my real life has been lately. Going to bed to late, and yet still getting up at 6:30am because I know that if I get up (and get Boy up) much later than that, then he won't take a nap, then he will be over-tired come 5:30pm and fall asleep in the living room. I transfer him to his bed and he sleeps all night; but it is the next week of naps and bedtimes that we pay for that one missed nap. That being said, he is a very busy boy with a growing brain who likes to talk to all his "friends" instead of napping even on a good day. Breakfast consists of Honey Nut Cheerios and milk, then Cream of Wheat or pancakes or dutch baby, or french toast. Lately, lunch has been pepperoni and possibly yogurt then goldfish and frequently more cheerios. Then dinner is canned tomato soup to which I add grated cheese that I get in a 5lb bag from Costco, more pepperoni and goldfish, topped off with homemade peanut butter cookies (which have regular sugar and white flour and butter or margarine and Skippy). He quit eating applesauce last week and hasn't eaten oatmeal or scrambled eggs in months. He loves Fruities (Beechnut or Parent's Choice) provided they don't have pears in them; something about the consistency of pears is bad, he never has liked them, and believe me, it's not for lack of me making him eat them!
But here's the thing, those issues of what he will or won't eat and how many naps he actually took this week are not what life as a mama is all about. Those are of course important factors that every good mama works on, but they are not the defining moments. Being a mama is reading him a story only to have him completely change the subject and start pointing out the various animals on the back of the Golden Book, complete with awesome "ephant" squeals. It is getting out the alphabet puzzle and seeing that he knows where all the letters go, even though he gets sidetracked halfway through putting it together. It is him hearing a firetruck and saying "Whas dat?" several times until he makes the connection between the sound and the sound his Mickey firetruck makes and his little face lights up as he understands. It is him saying "Tank ou, nor welc" when the fast food guy hands us the bag that he knows contains frys for him--he has started adding "your welcome" after "thank you" because we always say it to him so he thinks he is supposed to say both phrases together. It is when I take him to bed at night and he says "chair, hold?" and then when I sit he curls up his little legs and snuggles up with his head under my chin and chatters as he tries so hard to stay awake and I try to tell him it is time for ni-nites and then I fall asleep before he does. It is the way he gets sooo excited when Papa gets home from work, and immediately wants to be picked up so he can chatter and then wants back down and starts telling Papa about his animals. It is the way he will run into the kitchen or whatever room we are in and say "Hi! Whatcha doin'?" every 30 seconds. It is indeed just all those little wonderful things that we enjoy every day and can easily be forgotten if we get bogged down in the minutia of what he "should be" eating or how much he "should be" talking or whether he "should be" potty trained.
He is growing and learning each day, and in the blink of an eye he will be a teenager and blink again and he will be a Papa and we will be grandparents. You see, I am realizing (and yes I'm also preaching to myself here) that each day we must focus on the happy things, the fun things, the things that make us smile. Then we can truly be content each day and be ready and refreshed to face whatever eating and sleeping challenges may come. I will probably always be a little exhausted as long as I have little ones running around, no matter how good my routines I develop. No matter how experienced I may get over the years with the picky 2-year-old phase, I will still encounter days that make me want to throw up my hands and just give them cookies for breakfast. But that's okay because that's just part of what real life is like. For most of us mamas, anyway.
And now I will head back to finish up some kitchen work and promise to try to return in less than 10 days next time.

Just my thoughts today...(Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #17)

It's only a little after noon and it already feels like 10pm. For some odd reason, I did not sleep much last night. And then when my alarm went off this morning, I shut it off instead of getting up and woke up an hour later and realized my awake boy was still in his crib. At this point I felt like a terrible Mom; yes the monitor had fallen off the nightstand and on it's face on the floor, which is why I didn't hear Boy sooner and get up sooner. Now, he is perfectly capable of climbing out of his crib, he just doesn't unless he feels particularly energetic and impish :) I told him this morning that in the future, he should just climb out of his crib and come get me up; I may regret that tomorrow morning, but oh well. Getting up when you are dead tired is just another facet of Mommyhood. So Boy, although he didn't climb out of bed this morning on his own, was definitely impish this morning. On top of that, I went to the grocery store for a quick few things, and forgot a few important things--like ibuprofen and dish soap. Then when I was trying to get Boy to eat his healthy "applesauce" concoction for lunch and he only wanted to eat a bit and then start throwing his Cheerios, I just began to feel confused. All these thoughts were swirling around in my tired foggy brain about "How to get your toddler to eat" and how some people say he is smart enough to learn to just eat whatever I put in front of him if only I would send him to bed without dinner a couple times, and maybe I just don't make food fun enough, and is he getting enough nutrients. Then (he is now in bed for his nap and I am having more coffee!) I opened my computer and began to read. Here about my first priority being that my heart needs to be in the right place with God, and here about Mamas just being the best that we can be for our children, loving and playing with them, instead of worrying about all of today's hotly debated "Mommy" issues.

Life isn't perfect and it never will be, even if you do have the perfect house with the perfect kitchen to cook the perfect food and the perfect budget to be able to afford all the "perfect" foods. We all have to let somethings go, compromise on some things. Because every day will be different, all your little (and big) people in your life will behave/feel a little different each day, and you will only drive yourself insane trying to keep the picture perfect life/home/kitchen/kids you envisioned when you started out on your own in life. I'm serious, you will drive yourself insane; slowly but surely it will happen. Now I don't mean literally insane. I mean the kind of insane where because you keep insisting on those perfect views of life that aren't ever going to happen, because you persist in maintaining that "flowers and butterflies and marshmallow clouds" view of how things should be, you will become increasingly discontent and unhappy. You will lose sight of the important things in life.

The MOST important thing to focus on, is your relationship with God. Seek His will, pray for His wisdom, study His Word, and all those fuzzy things in life, those confusing "should I do this or should I do it that way" things will become clear.
You can only maintain a proper balance, a happy peace in your home when it is centered around God. Put him first, and all the other things will fall into place; you will begin to see what does truly matter, and what you should just let slide. I am reminded of a Sunday School class a few years ago in which Pastor drew a large triangle on the paper and labeled each corner; the top corner being "God" and the bottom corners being "husband" and "wife". Of course that class was dealing with the basis for a proper marital relationship, but that simple illustration holds true for all of life. God should be at the top, He should be the cornerstone that all of our decisions and interactions are based on.

I know that you will all take away something slightly different from this today; but the main thing to remember is, what is the focus of my home? Is it God or is it something else, something that won't matter a hundred years from now? What is the legacy I am leaving for my children and grandchildren? Is it to be "a man after God's own heart" or is it to be someone who lives up to the world's standards for (say in my case, getting my son to eat peas)? :)  Is it being content no matter what because we have Jesus, or is it always striving to keep up with the latest standards in "whole foods eating"? (Nothing against healthy eating, by the way!)

For me, today, I need to refocus on the top of the triangle. To pick up my Bible and read it, every day, and let God be my focus. If my family is fed and clothed and has clean dishes to eat off of, then I should not be discontent that I can't always keep my sink and stovetop shiny. I will do what I can each day, and then when I start to feel overwhelmed, I need to just stop and pray. Refocus. So now I will go read my Bible, then go wash the dishes; because the dog was licking the dirty dishes, which means I really do need to get the pile a little lower. :p



I'm linking up today with
          

Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #11

This little shelf is something I look at many, many times each day. It is one of only two decorative shelves that I have up. Really, two is plenty in our little space, but I grew up in a home in which my Mom loves to collect pretty china/glassware and has many shelves and several hutches filled with her beautiful conquests. My shelves, at present, are a little different than your average collection showcase. They do not strike you at first as being valuable or important, but each thing has meaning to me. My mom found me this shelf years ago, shortly after we were married, so on top of it's uniqueness, it has been with us long enough that it has sentimental value. I have always loved the color green, ever since I can remember. I remember telling my little brother that green was a girl color and blue was a boy color, so he couldn't have anything that was green! The little green bowl is depression glass, I got it from Mom long ago; the little green vase is just pretty. The little dried rosebud in the bowl is from the top of my birthday cake this year; hubby got me the most amazing delicious little cake with carnations on top! The little tea tin I got recently in a box of tea, and I have always loved the picture (and the flavor) of this particular tea. The pink pitcher was in my hubby's mother's collection, so it is of course special. (She went to be with Jesus on October 31, 2005--a little over a year after we were married). The little violin my Mom got me because I am a violinist (again, violin is something I have loved ever since I was very young); I think it is a little dish meant to hold jewelry on one's dressing table, but I have always just displayed it. And I'm not sure where I got the bell, I think it was also from hubby's mom.
So you see, each little piece has meaning to me, making the whole a very comforting cheerful spot in my kitchen. That is me, my decorative style--things I love and that have meaning to me. I will probably never be that person who has the perfectly styled home according to the fashion at the time. I enjoy those homes, but those just aren't me. I have read more and more often in some of the recent home decorating magazines, that if you are trying to make a space you truly love, don't worry about things "matching". Take your time, and decorate with those little "mismatched" things you see from time to time that you absolutely love; take them home and they will go together! So as you decorate your own home, don't drive yourself crazy and frustrated looking at all the beautiful room designs from magazines etc. that you think are pretty but just can't afford or can't make them mesh with your home. Just wing it; go with your heart. If you love it, it belongs; if you don't, it doesn't!

Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #5!!!

Finally, I have returned! No, I did not actually "leave", but life never goes as planned, i.e. I did not intend to disappear for almost 5 days from my little blog. I have greatly missed writing, but frankly, was too exhausted the first three days of the week to write anything. Yesterday, hubs and I watched a movie in the evening, and I had stomach cramps. Oh, and Boy didn't nap either. Today, I made a Walmart and Costco run, paid bills, and took Boy to the indoor play area in the mall. (Too hot outside for the last couple days to take him to the park...)  Tonight, I began catching up in the kitchen and finally got my shelf returned to it's rightful place on my counter! It is definitely not the color I intended, but I had a coupon for a free sample for a summer line of paint, and as they did not have red, I went for this as it is still bright and cheery--the green and yellow options were just too dull. So I am calling this color "terra cotta" as my kitchen is definitely not orange! Then this fall when my Real Simple magazine (hopefully) has another coupon for a free paint sample can, I will get a different color. Until then, I will enjoy this one. As you can see, I have more orange in my kitchen than I thought, and it really does blend nicely and add the needed pop of color. And yes, my new 2014 Ikea catalogue came in the mail a few days ago, which reminds me I also have a new Real Simple which is dying to be read while I finish my glass of wine. So adios for today; I will, Lord-willing, see you all tomorrow!

Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #3

Okay, so I'm watching the season premiere of Duck Dynasty and listening to Small Boy on the monitor not napping.  So to answer the obvious question, yes I'm watching it at 1:30pm the day after on A&E's website, my son is not napping at 10pm. And I still don't know what to say, except that it is now 2pm and Small Boy is still awake. He (and therefore I, because I accidentally turned my alarm off instead of hitting snooze) slept in till 8 this morning, and I heard him awake for quite a while around 5am, so I think his schedule is completely off. I just ate breakfast at 1pm today, as it was already a busy morning. I got up feeling behind, made breakfast for hubby and Boy, then Boy and I ran to Costco before hubby went to work. Now I need to plan the rest of the shopping that I need to do at Freddy's tomorrow. And I am thinking that Boy may actually be falling asleep after all. Nope, just heard him talk again. I also am really wanting some cookies, so I guess that means I ought to get up and make them, and quite rambling here. After debating on showing you the box of diapers I picked up at Costco (we are now stocked up for a month, yay! But yes I know that is kinda blah for a photo...) or the sink full of dirty dishes (I know, not pretty), I have settled on this one as the nice part of today :)

And now I gotta go get Small Boy up 'cause I'm pretty sure if he ever does fall asleep for a nap, that he won't go to bed tonight till 11, and that won't make for a well-rested easy-goin' Mama tomorrow.

Project 365 Writing/Photography Challenge; Post #2

Well I didn't promise to post no pictures of my kiddo, I only promised they wouldn't be all him! This picture actually contains two things I am very happy to have, the boy and the KitchenAid mixer! I have been wanting this mixer for years, and my old one finally went AWOL when we moved, so hubby bought me this one :) :) :)
We made oatmeal raisin cookies together, and as you can see, Small Boy is busily helping. He also insisted that the coffee maker be on; if anything has buttons that make lights come on, they will be pushed and the lights will remain on! Yes, that is a knife in the mixer, and he can work the power switch. Fortunately, he cannot plug the mixer in! Whenever I needed to mix, I plugged it in, turned it on, and then carefully kept his hands away, then immediately unplugged it as soon as said mixing was done. Then he busily put in the measuring cups and spoons and tried to remove some of the batter, and of course tried to remove the coffee pot and dump it out.  So let's see-- I creamed the butter and sugar, then beat in the eggs, then mixed in the flour, then mixed in the oats and raisins. That makes at least four of the plug-in-mix-unplug session. It was all worth the extra work, though, he had so much fun! And wouldn't you know it, he still has not actually eaten one of those cookies; he is a very picky child and decided the texture was gross to bite into. He did not actually taste the cookie. I refrigerated most of the dough, so maybe they will cook up different and be a little more moist when I bake the rest up. I am not giving up, these really are tasty healthy cookies and he should learn to like them (after all, he likes the "Grandma's" oatmeal raisin cookies that you can buy in 2-packs at DariMart!).  Next we will do peanut butter cookies; maybe after I uncover my kitchen from the pile of dirty dishes that is burying it!