Is this unbelievable? Go check this out:
It is Boynton JEWELRY! (Am I spelling that word that means "shiny things" wrong?) And by the way...I'd like the "Administer chocolate immediately" bracelet. Thank you for your kindness.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Stay-At-Home Mom
Is it just me or are these 3 of the cutest kids you have ever laid eyes on? I am so charmed by them that sometimes it is hard not to just sit and stare at them. I love playing games with J. or tickling M. with his big growly laugh, or having a "hot chocolate" party with H. with her little cups and teapot. I love when they are all silly and happy and playing with each other. Having 3 little, little people is hard, hard work. And having 3 little people who are very stubborn and independent and opinionated almost makes me crazy some days but then something will happen and I'll forget the frustration and be completely in love with them again. I've never, ever worked so hard in my entire life! Not when I was working 40+ hours a week or going to graduate school or going to school or doing internships or whatever! I feel like I get out of bed every morning and I'm running until I lay down at night...and even then I find myself sometimes getting up (depending on who let M. watch Scooby Doo or if J. got his hands on a glass of water before bed!) Sometimes I feel like all I do is feed, wipe bums, clean, do dishes, do laundry, clean some more, get more snacks, and I HAVE to be sure to wear a different outfit each day or it starts to all feel like the same day. And then you get up the next day and do it all over again. And yet in all the mundane and nitty-gritty, there is something magical. There must be...because I keep doing it. There is something deep down inside of me that tells me I'm part of something really amazing, something really fantastic. There is something that tells me to keep having faith and trusting in the promises I see in my 3 little people and the blessings of the Lord. Something propels me to do one more load of laundry, clean one more bathroom, and read "Knufflebunny" to M. one more time. And sometimes at night when it is very quiet and everyone is asleep, I lay awake and panic because time moves so quickly and my little children are growing up and every day that passes is one less day with their chubby cheeks and adoring kisses and funny comments. Every night represents one less day with my 3 children around me where I know they are safe and I know what they are doing and I don't have to worry about things out there that don't have their best interest at heart. Being a mother is a tough job...whether it is hating the housework or loving your children so much it hurts. I am grateful for this job that is teaching me so much about myself and others. I still have quite a ways to go before "retirement"...what a journey it is!
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Hello New Year! Am I Late?
I haven't posted for so long. Here is why:
1) I was running a preschool for 10 very small children. We made lots of stuff with glitter and put on a play called "The Gingerbread Baby" where they each got to choose what character they wanted to be when chasing the cookie. We had Spiderman, 2 Cinderellas, a spider, a cowboy, a horse, a wizard, and a couple of other things I can't remember. It was chaotic and hilarious.
2) I was trying to figure out how to organize 134 kids and 50 adults into a functioning primary. We had a "Teacher Breakfast", 2 musical numbers in the ward Christmas program, and a "Meet Your Teacher Breakfast" and in between we had to change things a million times and hold a million meetings and stay awake lots of nights stressing.
3) Christmas. Presents, cards, wrapping, cookies to the neighbors, decorating, out of town visitors, etc.
4) My husband's parents came home from their mission to New Zealand and 8 of the 9 siblings in my husband's family came in to town for the event. (They did NOT all stay here!)
5) Out of town visitors staying here (but not all of them).
6) A Christmas "Journey Around the World" class party for my son's kindergarten class (actually, both sessions of the kindergarten. Still not sure how I got roped into that...) And why did I volunteer to be in charge?
7) Lots of playing and frolicking with family and loved ones.
8) Strep throat (my son) and lots of congestion and colds.
9) An anxiety attack
10) A baby shower for a lady in the ward who just adopted 2 darling children after waiting years and years for kids. Invited the whole ward...nothing like putting your house under scrutiny at Christmas time. Worried the whole evening that there was a pair of poopy underwear somewhere or a soggy diaper under the couch!
My new year's goal to learn how to balance my life. There are SO many good, wonderful, magnificent opportunities out there waiting to be grasped but not all at the same time. If I hear of something wonderful, I grab it without stopping to assess where it will fit in to the grand scheme of my life and how it will affect those I love. There is the tricky part...you don't want to squeeze out the BEST part of your life with a bunch of little things that in the end don't add up. I dropped preschool. This is HUGE for me. I agonized over it for weeks but in the end it had to be about my family and me. And I have to admit that it has given me back a HUGE part of my life that I didn't realize had gone MIA. I'm sleeping more than 5 hours a night, I don't feel constant irritation and frustration, and I have more time to devote to the little people that really need me. I'm learning how to say "no". That isn't really true but I'm thinking about how to say "no".
I realize there is a time and season to all parts of life and part of being a grown up is recognizing that some great opportunities need to wait. That is hard for me but trying to do it all at once really messes things up. I feel like if I'm not running around like crazy being involved in every thing means I'm not making the contribution I could be making. And I like being involved. There are so many things I love and so many things that fascinate me and make me curious. But I don't want to wake up one day and realize the most interesting and precious things to me have grown up and moved away.
So 2007 will be the year to slow down and "delete". It will be the year to savor the minutes of every day...good and bad. It will be the year to blog more and stress less. I want to sit back on December 31, 2007 and instead of wondering if Valium could be administered in an IV every night while I sleep, think back on all the things I didn't miss because I chose to really be there...body and spirit.
Here is to hopes and wishes and good intentions! Cheers!
1) I was running a preschool for 10 very small children. We made lots of stuff with glitter and put on a play called "The Gingerbread Baby" where they each got to choose what character they wanted to be when chasing the cookie. We had Spiderman, 2 Cinderellas, a spider, a cowboy, a horse, a wizard, and a couple of other things I can't remember. It was chaotic and hilarious.
2) I was trying to figure out how to organize 134 kids and 50 adults into a functioning primary. We had a "Teacher Breakfast", 2 musical numbers in the ward Christmas program, and a "Meet Your Teacher Breakfast" and in between we had to change things a million times and hold a million meetings and stay awake lots of nights stressing.
3) Christmas. Presents, cards, wrapping, cookies to the neighbors, decorating, out of town visitors, etc.
4) My husband's parents came home from their mission to New Zealand and 8 of the 9 siblings in my husband's family came in to town for the event. (They did NOT all stay here!)
5) Out of town visitors staying here (but not all of them).
6) A Christmas "Journey Around the World" class party for my son's kindergarten class (actually, both sessions of the kindergarten. Still not sure how I got roped into that...) And why did I volunteer to be in charge?
7) Lots of playing and frolicking with family and loved ones.
8) Strep throat (my son) and lots of congestion and colds.
9) An anxiety attack
10) A baby shower for a lady in the ward who just adopted 2 darling children after waiting years and years for kids. Invited the whole ward...nothing like putting your house under scrutiny at Christmas time. Worried the whole evening that there was a pair of poopy underwear somewhere or a soggy diaper under the couch!
My new year's goal to learn how to balance my life. There are SO many good, wonderful, magnificent opportunities out there waiting to be grasped but not all at the same time. If I hear of something wonderful, I grab it without stopping to assess where it will fit in to the grand scheme of my life and how it will affect those I love. There is the tricky part...you don't want to squeeze out the BEST part of your life with a bunch of little things that in the end don't add up. I dropped preschool. This is HUGE for me. I agonized over it for weeks but in the end it had to be about my family and me. And I have to admit that it has given me back a HUGE part of my life that I didn't realize had gone MIA. I'm sleeping more than 5 hours a night, I don't feel constant irritation and frustration, and I have more time to devote to the little people that really need me. I'm learning how to say "no". That isn't really true but I'm thinking about how to say "no".
I realize there is a time and season to all parts of life and part of being a grown up is recognizing that some great opportunities need to wait. That is hard for me but trying to do it all at once really messes things up. I feel like if I'm not running around like crazy being involved in every thing means I'm not making the contribution I could be making. And I like being involved. There are so many things I love and so many things that fascinate me and make me curious. But I don't want to wake up one day and realize the most interesting and precious things to me have grown up and moved away.
So 2007 will be the year to slow down and "delete". It will be the year to savor the minutes of every day...good and bad. It will be the year to blog more and stress less. I want to sit back on December 31, 2007 and instead of wondering if Valium could be administered in an IV every night while I sleep, think back on all the things I didn't miss because I chose to really be there...body and spirit.
Here is to hopes and wishes and good intentions! Cheers!
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