This week, we are gearing up for NEXT week - when the two girls start preschool. When I think about it, it's not really that much of a change. But when I really think about it - thinking about what this means and how different it really will be and how emotions play into this - it kind of is a big change. This will be the first time that I drop them off for an extended period of time. I have been blessed to be a stay at home mom for the past three years and now it's time to ease on into the world of school.
We did some "practice" rounds this summer - for them and me both - in the way of dance camps. It was weird that first day, leaving the building with a kid still in there. And seeing each of them get in line, meet new friends, and not need me for those few hours - made me proud. There are going to be several combinations of kids and me during the weeks of school - just me and the baby - all three of us - and then just the two younger ones. It's going to be fun to see how it is spending time with each other in different ways!! My goal is to enjoy this year - have fun - really enjoy these "little years" moments, as the next few years they will be flying past me...
So this week, we are trying things out. Portable snacks and lunches - seeing what works and what doesn't. Playing a little more - at home and at the park. Getting up just a little earlier. Getting dressed a little faster. Gearing up for a new routine! I'm so looking forward to some routine! Routine + Crazy = the little years!
Since it's not really "summer" and Labor Day weekend is coming and routines don't really start until the middle of next week, this week feels just kind of an in-between. Maybe like the whole week is a Wednesday. Instead of hump day... hump week!
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Friday, May 24, 2013
Flat on the ground
Today: Travel mug coffee. Doctor's office for #3. Ran three miles. 2 out of 3 children soaking wet. Tried to go shopping. Car wash. Middle child screaming for chicken. For donuts. Locked out of house (by a certain four year old). Lunch at 1:30 after dramatic fits by #1 & #2. Finally naps for #2 & #3.
Why is it that the days that you want to get out and have fun - one of those days with nice weather too - are the days that you just struggle to have fun? Maybe I should have just stayed here.
I was thinking today about why I can't get anything done. Besides the obvious "I have 3 kids four and under with me at all times" - and maybe that's a good one. But today was a great example. I got going early. And got out of the dr fast (which is weird). Then I just needed to exercise - I need it bad!! And that was fun - and child free - for a moment. Then, that's where the crazy came in. I thought - hey, let's do some fun things. And my girls do like shopping. So we went to get them some pool shoes. #2's feet are now the same size as #1. Two sizes in one year! And silly me. I thought, if this goes well, we could just run one other place.
But that trip ended with #2 flat on her face and stomach, screaming at the checkout. She wanted something - just like always - and we didn't get it. I will rarely get what they just randomly grab. They usually get something - Hey, I'm an expert shopper. And we went to the store to get something, which was probably for them anyway. But the random "I want this" - usually never happens. So I don't know why she was surprised I said no. But there she was - FLAT on the ground. Then screaming on the way home - wanting this or that. Only stopping to squeal while we went through the car wash. Kind of for them. But I'm a total sucker for car washes! Especially the ones where you put your car in neutral! I'm easy to entertain!!
And the excitement just kept coming. #1 locked me out of the house when I was walking the dog. I think she wanted to come and was mad that I just wanted a moment outside - away from the screams (they were still going on from #2 and by this point, I don't think either of us knew what she was upset about). Thankfully I have a secret spy way into the house. So not a big deal. But a big deal indeed.
Oh and the baby. Just sitting there in his stroller for the shopping fit and then sitting there on the floor for the lockout. Just wondering what these crazy girls are doing! (Me included, I think)
So... it's only 3:00 today. Summer has barely begun. This is a long holiday weekend. These kids are going to eat me alive this summer. And I don't know if I need to get out - or stay in?!?!
Why is it that the days that you want to get out and have fun - one of those days with nice weather too - are the days that you just struggle to have fun? Maybe I should have just stayed here.
I was thinking today about why I can't get anything done. Besides the obvious "I have 3 kids four and under with me at all times" - and maybe that's a good one. But today was a great example. I got going early. And got out of the dr fast (which is weird). Then I just needed to exercise - I need it bad!! And that was fun - and child free - for a moment. Then, that's where the crazy came in. I thought - hey, let's do some fun things. And my girls do like shopping. So we went to get them some pool shoes. #2's feet are now the same size as #1. Two sizes in one year! And silly me. I thought, if this goes well, we could just run one other place.
But that trip ended with #2 flat on her face and stomach, screaming at the checkout. She wanted something - just like always - and we didn't get it. I will rarely get what they just randomly grab. They usually get something - Hey, I'm an expert shopper. And we went to the store to get something, which was probably for them anyway. But the random "I want this" - usually never happens. So I don't know why she was surprised I said no. But there she was - FLAT on the ground. Then screaming on the way home - wanting this or that. Only stopping to squeal while we went through the car wash. Kind of for them. But I'm a total sucker for car washes! Especially the ones where you put your car in neutral! I'm easy to entertain!!
And the excitement just kept coming. #1 locked me out of the house when I was walking the dog. I think she wanted to come and was mad that I just wanted a moment outside - away from the screams (they were still going on from #2 and by this point, I don't think either of us knew what she was upset about). Thankfully I have a secret spy way into the house. So not a big deal. But a big deal indeed.
Oh and the baby. Just sitting there in his stroller for the shopping fit and then sitting there on the floor for the lockout. Just wondering what these crazy girls are doing! (Me included, I think)
So... it's only 3:00 today. Summer has barely begun. This is a long holiday weekend. These kids are going to eat me alive this summer. And I don't know if I need to get out - or stay in?!?!
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Ideas vs Time
Blogging, writing, journaling... I love being creative in these ways. And I do really enjoy writing a blog. But I can't keep it up very well. It's not that I lack the passion, or the time really. Although I lead a busy unpredictable life with small children staying at home, we are just ALL busy. So really being busy isn't much of a reason that I can't blog either. I was trying to think of the reason that I can't seem to keep up the blog. Hmmm...
And what I came up with is this: I tend to do more thinking than writing. Meaning that I have these great blog ideas, and sometimes they go as far as to be kind of written in my head, but when I get to the actual writing of it, the words are gone. (Words escape me, at least the right words, on many other occasions too...)
And then there are times that I have the idea, but not the time to jot it down - then the idea is LONG gone when I do find the time. And the best one - when I have the time - and the desire to write - and there is nothing there. No ideas, no words flowing.
I do have this need for expressing creativity. And I love doing that in words. I keep personal journals - these help to empty out my brain when I am just thinking and ruminating and pondering something. These are usually just very raw - with feelings, fear, hopes, questions, joys, and even laughter. I think these help me get to know me. And also these work many times as written prayers.
I also used to write songs - mainly in high school - but I've done a few (more like poems now) recently. And when I feel a song in my brain, I just have to get it out on paper - and the pen just seems to move itself. It's an amazing feeling of creativity when a song just bursts forth from your mind.
But the blog is different. It's where I want to create something. A story, a picture, capture a memory. It's something for me to share. So here's to me finding the ideas and the time and the way back.
And what I came up with is this: I tend to do more thinking than writing. Meaning that I have these great blog ideas, and sometimes they go as far as to be kind of written in my head, but when I get to the actual writing of it, the words are gone. (Words escape me, at least the right words, on many other occasions too...)
And then there are times that I have the idea, but not the time to jot it down - then the idea is LONG gone when I do find the time. And the best one - when I have the time - and the desire to write - and there is nothing there. No ideas, no words flowing.
I do have this need for expressing creativity. And I love doing that in words. I keep personal journals - these help to empty out my brain when I am just thinking and ruminating and pondering something. These are usually just very raw - with feelings, fear, hopes, questions, joys, and even laughter. I think these help me get to know me. And also these work many times as written prayers.
I also used to write songs - mainly in high school - but I've done a few (more like poems now) recently. And when I feel a song in my brain, I just have to get it out on paper - and the pen just seems to move itself. It's an amazing feeling of creativity when a song just bursts forth from your mind.
But the blog is different. It's where I want to create something. A story, a picture, capture a memory. It's something for me to share. So here's to me finding the ideas and the time and the way back.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
National Cereal Day
Last week, Thursday was National Cereal Day. I'm always looking for interesting ways to make the days that seem to be the same thing - over and over - be something different. And maybe a little special. And fun!
And I LOVE cereal. You know the question: what food would you have on a desert island if you could have just one thing. I have always thought it would be pizza. But then I got to thinking... pizza for breakfast. As much as enjoy pizza, I would not enjoy pizza (especially cold pizza) for breakfast. So, my new "choice" is cereal. It can work for all meals, snacks - even dessert. It can be rich or chocolaty or sweet or just kind of plain. I have a weakness for an after dinner/late night bowl of cereal.
Um, so is national cereal day EVERY day at my house?
I have my very favorites, ranging from my Kashi in the morning to Lucky Charms for nighttime. And really everything in between. And I am raising some cereal-loving girls too!
This was our spread for our fun start to cereal eating day....
Then that afternoon, my oldest and I made granola...
And for dinner (it couldn't be left out of the cereal festivities)
Crispy Chex Chicken
very tasty!
And there was a little after dinner dessert Cocoa Krispies cereal!
-
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Two to Three...
The question that I have gotten many times over the past few months: How is it going from two to three? Well, there is a short answer and a long answer.
I would said that it was kind of easy and smooth - with some bumps. Although it really kind of snuck up on me. So maybe "smooth" like ripping off a bandaid. Bam! It's done. But now, settling into life with three can be described as unpredictable and scattered. I don't have a hand for every child. And when there are kids in need, there has to be a line. Scattered is just something that my life really has never been. I'm not one to lose my keys or not know the plan for the day. And I find myself doing just that more and more these days. And really, I'm ok with that. I find that it's almost refreshing to kind of change the way I think about things. Sometimes. I still am me, though. I love a plan. And when I have lost my key, it's just in the "safe place" that I put it last.
To really answer the question, how is going from two to three, it really is about how we went from zero to three. Two to three was a surprise - and as unpredictable as everything is now, it feels complete.
Going from one to two was probably the hardest transition, but we did it a rather hard way. There was travel and a foreign land. And then uncharted stages of grief and bonding and pain that we went through. All of us. So the transition to a complete family of four took a while.
And going from zero to one - that was just kind of scary. One day, I got a call that there was a baby waiting for me and FOUR days later, we brought her home. It felt weird putting a baby in our car. Um, we just, like, take her home? Then what? There were many unknowns. Ok, seriously, EVERYTHING was unknown. I hadn't been reading lots of books, because I didn't think that our time for a child was going to be so soon. And my heart couldn't open that much to do the research - that I very much like to do before something major. So every day was a new adventure - scary and exciting.
I think maybe every day still is an adventure. And it seems that my adventure is getting louder and louder every day!
My journey - zero to three - in just over 2 years - kind of crazy. Full of blessings. Never expected. Is this what I thought it would look like? Not in a million years. Is this exactly what God's plan was? Most definitely. And I am so thankful that His plan was WAY better than any of my plans could have ever been.
I would said that it was kind of easy and smooth - with some bumps. Although it really kind of snuck up on me. So maybe "smooth" like ripping off a bandaid. Bam! It's done. But now, settling into life with three can be described as unpredictable and scattered. I don't have a hand for every child. And when there are kids in need, there has to be a line. Scattered is just something that my life really has never been. I'm not one to lose my keys or not know the plan for the day. And I find myself doing just that more and more these days. And really, I'm ok with that. I find that it's almost refreshing to kind of change the way I think about things. Sometimes. I still am me, though. I love a plan. And when I have lost my key, it's just in the "safe place" that I put it last.
To really answer the question, how is going from two to three, it really is about how we went from zero to three. Two to three was a surprise - and as unpredictable as everything is now, it feels complete.
Going from one to two was probably the hardest transition, but we did it a rather hard way. There was travel and a foreign land. And then uncharted stages of grief and bonding and pain that we went through. All of us. So the transition to a complete family of four took a while.
And going from zero to one - that was just kind of scary. One day, I got a call that there was a baby waiting for me and FOUR days later, we brought her home. It felt weird putting a baby in our car. Um, we just, like, take her home? Then what? There were many unknowns. Ok, seriously, EVERYTHING was unknown. I hadn't been reading lots of books, because I didn't think that our time for a child was going to be so soon. And my heart couldn't open that much to do the research - that I very much like to do before something major. So every day was a new adventure - scary and exciting.
I think maybe every day still is an adventure. And it seems that my adventure is getting louder and louder every day!
My journey - zero to three - in just over 2 years - kind of crazy. Full of blessings. Never expected. Is this what I thought it would look like? Not in a million years. Is this exactly what God's plan was? Most definitely. And I am so thankful that His plan was WAY better than any of my plans could have ever been.
Friday, January 11, 2013
The great purge of 2013
The great purge of 2013
I want to start fresh - a new beginning. So I am getting rid of stuff. I am aiming at minimalism. Not that I'm going to hit that target completely. Or that I really want to. It not really about being a complete minimalist for me. But I want the stuff that is in our home, in our lives, to be stuff that we enjoy, that makes day to day stuff easier and more enjoyable. And stuff that we use. ONLY stuff that we use. Later is a bad word to me. I fall into that saving "just in case" or "I might need it later." So my goal is to have stuff in the house that we only need NOW. No more later.
It's an interesting undertaking with three kids 4 and under. They bring a lot of stuff with them into our lives. And there is stuff that you have to have for upcoming stages. (So I will be calling that "needing it sooner" instead of "needing it later")
So I want to do the Purge. The way I see the house - the way that I function daily - the way that I am - is completely different than it was just a little over 2 years ago. So much has changed. Me included. So it's time that the stuff - and the way I see stuff changes too. I do like to clean and organize, so this is kind of fun and exciting for me.
The Purge of 2013 started in the kitchen - and in the closets (clothes). To me it's where the stuff that has to go is the most obvious. In the kitchen... Do I use it, does it work well. And for a box full, the answer was no. So off it goes...
Then to the closet. It's going to be a little harder. It's a work in progress - that sometimes seems to be going backwards. I did the first "run through" last weekend and got the obvious stuff out. The "why on earth do I still have this" purge. And the "I feel horrible in this" purge. But getting it down to where I really want it is going to hurt a little. But just for a bit, because the outcome is going to be....
LESS STRESS. Yes. That is what I'm aiming for. My version of minimalism. So I don't have to lean over stuff, dig through stuff that I'm not using anyway. Or trying to find something in that "safe place that I put it so that I could find it next time" Ooooh. I hate the "safe place" - I never had any idea where it is!
And I have my husband as a helper. Really it's pretty much all my stuff. And it is actually very well organized. Ok maybe not as organized as I think. Well, the stuff in the "living spaces" is. But he is on board. He was the first to grab the big black trash bags! And he cleaned the kitchen last weekend too. Like...everything! So I have a mostly purged organized cleaned kitchen. A great place to start!
So what is coming up? My schedule/to do list - shortening it and adding stuff for me each day. I have tried it this week and it's working well! The closets...all the closets. Books, DVDs. And the random room in our basement that is the "later" storage. It's bugging me. It's just sitting there, not being functional. So it will be... soon!
I want to start fresh - a new beginning. So I am getting rid of stuff. I am aiming at minimalism. Not that I'm going to hit that target completely. Or that I really want to. It not really about being a complete minimalist for me. But I want the stuff that is in our home, in our lives, to be stuff that we enjoy, that makes day to day stuff easier and more enjoyable. And stuff that we use. ONLY stuff that we use. Later is a bad word to me. I fall into that saving "just in case" or "I might need it later." So my goal is to have stuff in the house that we only need NOW. No more later.
It's an interesting undertaking with three kids 4 and under. They bring a lot of stuff with them into our lives. And there is stuff that you have to have for upcoming stages. (So I will be calling that "needing it sooner" instead of "needing it later")
So I want to do the Purge. The way I see the house - the way that I function daily - the way that I am - is completely different than it was just a little over 2 years ago. So much has changed. Me included. So it's time that the stuff - and the way I see stuff changes too. I do like to clean and organize, so this is kind of fun and exciting for me.
The Purge of 2013 started in the kitchen - and in the closets (clothes). To me it's where the stuff that has to go is the most obvious. In the kitchen... Do I use it, does it work well. And for a box full, the answer was no. So off it goes...
Then to the closet. It's going to be a little harder. It's a work in progress - that sometimes seems to be going backwards. I did the first "run through" last weekend and got the obvious stuff out. The "why on earth do I still have this" purge. And the "I feel horrible in this" purge. But getting it down to where I really want it is going to hurt a little. But just for a bit, because the outcome is going to be....
LESS STRESS. Yes. That is what I'm aiming for. My version of minimalism. So I don't have to lean over stuff, dig through stuff that I'm not using anyway. Or trying to find something in that "safe place that I put it so that I could find it next time" Ooooh. I hate the "safe place" - I never had any idea where it is!
And I have my husband as a helper. Really it's pretty much all my stuff. And it is actually very well organized. Ok maybe not as organized as I think. Well, the stuff in the "living spaces" is. But he is on board. He was the first to grab the big black trash bags! And he cleaned the kitchen last weekend too. Like...everything! So I have a mostly purged organized cleaned kitchen. A great place to start!
So what is coming up? My schedule/to do list - shortening it and adding stuff for me each day. I have tried it this week and it's working well! The closets...all the closets. Books, DVDs. And the random room in our basement that is the "later" storage. It's bugging me. It's just sitting there, not being functional. So it will be... soon!
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