What a great day!!

A little different than the last post....

But today was a great low key, chill, productive kind of day.

This morning I got up early showered, went to the grocery store, came home and started baking banana breads before the kids even got up. I had 2 out of the oven before hubby even left for work. I was working on the raspberry oatmeal bars as he was going out the door.

After that I began to prepare my potatoes dish for Thanksgiving dinner at my in laws only to find out, that they have too many potato kind of dishes coming. Ugh. My potato dish would just make too much :(
I had already bought the ingredients. Oh well guess what we had for dinner tonight? LOL. You guessed it, the potatoes bacon dish.

Hopefully hubby can go to store for me, so I don't have to go AGAIN...

I was also able to spend some very valuable hang out time with a friend. She job searched on my computer while I fluttered around the kitchen. It was not party time just hang out time. Ahh, so nice not to have an agenda (she did, I didn't).

....oops just found this post, that I called away in the middle of, and now it is a couple days old. Oh well, I will post it anyways.....I will post later about Thanksgiving, since that is Today!!

Happy Thanksgiving! Be thankful even for the smallest of blessings!

Beat Up

Have you ever felt beat up when parenting?

Man on man, that is exactly how I feel right now.

We have set certain standards in our home. What kind of movies are allowed, what video games are acceptable, what kind of language is appropriate, etc. Usually the kids are agreeable to such standards and don't balk at them, but today was an onslaught.

We were getting hit from all angles. The boys wanting to push against those standards, mostly because friends or cousins were pushing them too. Ugh!!!

It's getting harder and harder to maintain those standards as they get older.

I feel beat up.
I feel bad.
Is it worth it?

The kids end up mad. Hubby and I end up frustrated. The friends and cousins don't understand.

 We were once the "cool parents", but have we now been down graded to "oh those parents"?

Ugh! Finding that balance of protection and letting go. Whew! That is a toughie.

Our goal is to move the kids from riding mom and dad's coat tails and what we believe to believing for themselves. We want their faith to be theirs, not because mom and dad said so. We want to teach them how to be decerning, and wise in their choices. We want them to be able to say no to disagreeable things because they believe it to be wrong.
Because my parents said so only goes so far, and doesn't exactly work when you are in college and beyond.

So today has been a rough day. The standards being pushed, holding to those standards, and letting them go to decide if they believe those standards are valuable.

God give me wisdom!

When you don't know what else to do.... just chuckle.

As you know I have 3 boys and a girl. So you would think that the 2nd and 3rd boys would be able to wear hand me downs from the oldest boy. They are not babies and toddlers so I don't have to worry with the season and size anymore.

I think God likes to show me His humor sometimes, cause yes I have 3 boys and a girl. I should only technically have to get 2 sets of clothes, boys (starting with my oldest, then passing them down to the younger brothers) and a girl. However, I have 3 different size boys, one wears regular, another wears slims, and the other one wears husky. I mean really? Not one boy the same? NOPE.

So there is no way I can get away with only one set of boys clothes. I will have size 14 regular, 14 slims, and 14 Husky. If I kept them (which I don't, I pass them on to someone else), I could open my own 2nd hand store for boys of ANY size. LOL.

For now we range in size from 18 regulars, to 10 slims (boy), to 8 husky, to a 6-7 slim (girl) Not a single size alike. I find that absolutely comical, cause if I didn't, I would find it really irritating. LOL.

Differences

I had a little chuckle tonight as the differnces in ages, and sons vs. daughters were revealed after saying a simple statement.

I just said "Babygirl?"
She replied "Yes, Mom?"
I said "I love you"
She promptly got up and came and sat next to me and started to snuggle with me.
My snuggle bug for sure.

I called to third son sitting on couch next to the chair babygirl and I were in, and he said
"huh?"
I said " I love you"
His reply " Uh -huh" with a little muttering
I said "Sweetie did you hear me? I said I love you."
He said "Yeah, I said I love you too didn't you hear me. Or maybe I just thought it? Hmm"
I explain to him "I didn't tell you so you would say it to me, I just wanted to make sure you heard me."
"Oh.... well...I did and I do love you, just in case I didnt tell you, and just thought it."
Such a sweetie.

I then call over to second son who is sitting at the table on the computer
He says "Yeah Mom"
I say "I love you"
He responded with a little chuckle and then said "I love you too"
I question the little chuckle "What was the chuckle for?"
He tells me "You already told me that today."
So I say "Well then I must really mean it huh?"
He replies with another chuckle "Yeah, I know."
Oh, he is growing up.

Oldest son was upstairs doing homework, so didn't get a chance at that time to tell him, though I know I have already told him that I love him. I never want to take for granted the chance to tell my kids I love them. You never know what tomorrow brings.

I just found it interesting how they each responded.

Ahhh!!! I am sooo behind on my holiday baking...
Usually by now I have many frozen dozens of cookies and breads, and right now... I have zilch, zippo, nada, nil, nothing, zero.
I did have several different kinds of muffins, breads, oatmeal cookies, choc. chip cookies, all ready to go for the holidays.
But as events have rolled by, and kids need homebaked items for parties at school, or soccer game snacks, or ladies events, or whatever has come along. So have the baked items come out of the freezer and onto someone elses plate.
Don't get me wrong....I was ever so grateful at the time to have a quick fix for an unplanned visit from friends or whatever, but now my holiday baking is so pathetic looking.

Bliss

Ahhhh!!!

Yesterday was great, amazing, fantabulous.....

I had an amazing breakfast and morning with hubby after the kids were at school and before he needed to be at work....

What a great time to actually talk without being interrupted, or have to share our food, or whatever seems to always happen when hubby and I try to talk. Okay, it is not that bad but still it was nice to know it wouldn't happen no matter what.

After hubby went off to work,  I had the house to myself... Well mostly.
I did have to share it with the dog and HGTV. I am so addicted to that channel. My favorite is house hunters or house hunters international. What a fantastic show!! Anyways, I had HGTV on all day without it getting changed to a kid show or ESPN (which I do enjoy periodically).

I needed to conquer the laundry beast again. Somehow that beast always seems to have the upper hand. UGH!!
So with house hunters on, I become a laundry beast fighting machine. ( I pause it during the commercials, run around putting the folded clothes in their proper rooms, reboot the laundry if it is time then head back to the tv. I fast forward through the commericials and begin watching the show again and folding laundry till next commercial.) . What a delightful productive almost relaxing kind of day!!!

I have to say it was BLISS!!!

How things change

I noticed the last post I was confessing some Empty nest feelings.....

Whew!! I have off tomorrow, and all the kids will be in school.....

I am sooooo ready for tomorrow, and NO there will not be any feelings of empty nest.

It's been stressful, hubby traveling, kids school work, oldest son ankle injury, second son dentist issue and chiro issues, third son struggling with school work, and baby girl well.... lets just say she always has drama.

I am wiped out and ready for SILENCE tomorrow.

So goodbye feelings of loneliness and hello sanity....