It's all about how you SEE...

See: 1) to perceive with the eyes; look at. 2) to perceive mentally, discern, understand. 3) to accept or imagine or suppose as acceptable. [adapted from dictionary.com]

I am participating in Ali Edwards: One Little Word again this year and my word , SEE, literally found me. Actually it knocked me straight on my ass. I had NO choice but to have SEE as my word for 2015.

Here’s how my “word” search played out:

Roughly 2 months ago I noticed that there seemed to be more and more disrespect creeping into our home. This is something that Jon and I do not tolerate. I mentioned it to him and he said that he had noticed it also. So we got a little tougher on our boys (we have 3 sons, ages 9, 7, & 6). By Christmas break, I was at my breaking point, and let’s face it, by Christmas break everyone is needing a break.
I asked a child to put his clothes away…. no response. He just kept reading his book. So I asked again, just a bit louder, because he is like his mom and gets very into his books and most likely did not hear me. I got a glance (you know the one where they are perturbed you are interrupting them, a parents favorite look to get…) and he went back to reading his book. I literally felt the thread that was barely holding my patience in place SNAP. I went full volume (not a shining moment in my parenting history) and those that know me, know I am a loud person by nature. Add mad to that and ear drums could potentially shatter. Young son SLAMMED his book shut and said (in a voice that was too much like mine) “I heard you! I just wanted to finish the chapter.” Me: “No, you were straight ignoring me. IF you wanted to finish the damn chapter you should have asked.” Son: “You would have said no.” Me: “That very well may be, but just ignoring me and doing as you please is disrespectful. It stops now.”

Fast forward to a couple days later: I am texting a friend when another son comes to me asking a question. I kept on texting, not wanting to loose my train of thought, and asked him to “hold on”. Finished the text and… Me: “What's up buddy?” Son “I’m writing a story to read to you!” Me: “Cool!! Let me hear it.” Son “A snake ate a rat. Then I ran into the wall to get my cat. I like cats because… [text alert] … they are so nice. [I glace at my phone, not my friend but a relative] … And then the building was on fire… [I send a quick reply] … cause I broke my leg! THE END.” Me: “Great story!” Son: “Thanks mom.”

So how did his leg get broke? What happened after he said he liked cats? How did the building catch on fire? Great questions. I missed those bits of the story because I was multi-tasking. And yes, that is how I see it. Multi-tasking. I will find his notebook and read it the story again in a bit, is how I justify my multi-tasking. But wait. Did I hear a bit of dejection in his voice? hmmm. Is that how our kids SEE it? hmmmm…

How many times are we “multi-tasking” when we should be giving our children/loved one 100% of our attention?

• washing dishes while helping with homework
• sending a quick text while listening to a story
• reading an email while talking on the phone OR while sitting at the supper table
• sitting in front of the TV, with it on, while spouse/child tells you about their day OR you are trying to tell them about your day.
• trying to listen to a spouse/child with the radio on.
• making supper while going over the next days schedule with your spouse & trying to listen to a kiddo read through their word ring.
• trying to listen to a spouse/child while thinking about your to do list or what you need to do to get dinner ready.

The list is endless. So I ask you this: What is the difference between me “multi-tasking” and my son “ignoring me to finish the chapter”?

Nothing. Except how each person involved SEES/PERCEIVES it. And this realization is what knocked me on my ass.

I have been the one teaching our children to be disrespectful and then punishing them for it. That’s great parenting right there. (for those that don’t know me, yes, that is sarcasm.)

So for 2015 I am going to work/struggle to SEE more and multi-task less. I am going to SEE my kids for who they are, NOT how I perceive them to be but how THEY perceive themselves to be. Who they want to become and help guide them to be that person. I am going to SEE my husband for the awesomely flawed and perfect man for me that he is. I am going to SEE my friends and extended family more. I am going to SEE joy and goodness in the everyday. I am going to SEE my self worth. I am going to SEE a better relationship with God. I am going to SEE change. And realistically, I am going to SEE failure (after all, it is just a word. Not a magic wand. But oh, to SEE what one little word can do, when you make it visible!!). And I am going to be okay with that (or at least work on being okay with that) because through failure comes change. I am going to SEE (try really hard) myself letting go of my old ways.

To let go is to change. The only way to change, is to just start. And the only way to start is to take the first step. I may trip and fall flat on my face, but at least it’s a start. I will SEE myself, with help from my established (never call them old) friends and the new friends I will make along this journey, get up, brush myself off and keep going.

I am excited to SEE what 2015 has to offer. I am excited to SEE where this path I am setting myself and our little family on while lead.

Hope to SEE you along the journey! (And if you happen to see me face down because I just tripped, please help me back up...or give me a swift kick in the ass to get me going again or hand me a bottle of wine or cup of coffee. Which ever you SEE as appropriate!!)


Stacey

A Day in the Life of a Stay at Home Mom (with no kids at home)

 

Allie Edwards has a series that she does called “Day in the Life” and “Week in the Life”. I decided to give the “Day in the Life” a try and recorded my day with pictures and words. This day occurred just this week – 2/18/14. I had fun and am planning to do a day each month. The times that are highlighted have corresponding pictures that I would be happy to share with you….over a bottle or two of wine…at my home. Really…I am happy to share them…just not post them for all to see….don’t want to scare anyone…which would be the reason for the bottle or two of wine! SO sit back and enjoy this little recap of our Day.

 

5:58a – Jon wakes me to tell me he is leaving for Hugoton, reminded me he will be gone overnight and “do you want to set your alarm?” Groggy me kisses him goodbye, wish him safe travels and say I love him…still mostly asleep. (he gently reminded me to set the alarm again…I set it.)

6:30- alarm sounds. I give it a good slap to shut it off and roll over. Only to jolt into a sitting position thinking I had fallen back asleep and we were going to be late.

6:31- realize that I in fact did not oversleep but now am wide awake (heart still pounding) so I get up, get dressed and wake the boys. Time to face the day!

6:40- first cup of coffee brewing. How can 30 seconds take soooo lllooooooonnnnnnnngggggggggg????

6:45- boys are fed AND they have loaded their dishes into the dishwasher! Whoohooo!! We are off to a rocking start!

6:50- MUD. All over the floor. MUD. How in the world did these boys manage to get mud onto the floor after only 20 minutes of being awake??

7:00- started the first load of laundry. Usually catch-up laundry is done on Monday (and Friday) but the holiday mini vacation to Dodge has thrown off the laundry schedule, so today I have several loads to get through.

7:02- Jon calls from the road making sure we are up (jeez. I am 40 years old and have been a mom for almost 9 years now. I think I can get us up and going and to school on time….just because I don’t when he is here should be no reflection…sigh...OKAY so there have been times in the past when I have failed to get us up and going in a timely manner when he has been gone….fine I will give him this one.) and to tell the boys good morning. He is such an awesome Dad! And a fabulously nagging Husband

7:05- I hear giggling coming from the boys’ bedroom. Ahhh! What a heartwarming sound/sight. Brady and JT playing….not fighting…but playing with happy voices and sharing! Hmmmm. Maybe this “getting up when the alarm first goes off” thing has some silver lining type qualities. Maybe. And maybe we will try this “getting up when the alarm first goes off” thing again tomorrow morning to prove this theory. Maybe.

7:20- I finally look in a mirror. Oh damn. Now the mirror needs replaced.

7:25- Chores have been completed. Has this ever happened before…this early in the morning and without several **clearing my throat** reminders. I don’t think so. Hmmm. Okay so there really might be something to this “getting up when the alarm first goes off” thing. CRAP.

7:30- get the boys moving towards the door, getting shoes on, shutting off lights in empty rooms. Why am I always shutting off lights in empty rooms? Is it truly that hard to flip the switch? Does it over stress their little hands to the point of them not being able to write at school and so they just don’t even try to turn the light switch to the off position? Ponderous questions indeed.

7:32- Anthony and JT are ready for school but banished to the garage as they have ***GASP*** mud on their shoes, I am searching for the van keys (I swear I put them in my purse last night. Maybe Jon moved them?) and Brady is “double checking” his bag for the fourth time.

7:36- text from Mom with a picture of the creation she found after we left Monday. It is one of JT’s snakes. He loves making snakes lately. Some have legs (like the one he left at the farm) and others have rattles. Some have faces and some don’t. But they are usually very long. We have around 20 in the house at last count!

7:40- Brady finally makes it to the garage to put his **muddy** shoes on. I am STILL searching for those &^%$(&$#^ keys. Seriously. Jon had to have used them and not put them back where they belong. And WHERE in the blankety blank are the spare keys? If I had slept in this would have never happened. Damn “getting up when the alarm first goes off” thing. Screwed up my morning mojo.

7:48- Found the damn spare keys (stressed a bit) We got to GO.

7:49- As I am shutting the van door JT says, “Momma I play you a funny song”. Jeez I love these kids! **giggle**

7:54- FINALLY we arrive at the school and get in the “drop off” line. 6 minutes to spare. And JT is still singing his “funny” song and making some sounds that sound a bit too much like **cough cough** me when I stress. Hmmm. I need coffee. Did I even drink the cup that I made? Oh jeez. I can’t remember. Seriously. The “getting up when the alarm first goes off” thing is starting to mess with me.

7:58- OMG! We are finally getting to the “drop zone”. Seriously???!!! It took us 4 minutes to move 3 car lengths. Oy. Smiling I tell the kids to have a great day at school. Anthony says “enjoy your day Momma”. Thanks Anthony! I love you boys!

8:03- Home. First cup of coffee. Sitting on the counter. So sad. So cold. Half full. Well at least now I know that I did in fact take a couple sips of it…I wonder if I enjoyed it? Apparently not, as I can’t even remember it. SIGH.

8:06- Found the blasted keys….when I moved my laptop. OH YEAH! I remember telling myself to move them or I wouldn’t be able to find them in the morning. Man I hate it when I don’t listen to myself. Proper punishment would be grounding me to my room all day. Hmmmm…..

8:15- Second cup of coffee. Hot. I WILL drink this one. All of it. (and I did while playing on FB and Instagram!!)

8:48- switching laundry. One hour & 48 minutes after I started it. Challenge myself to do better with the rest of the loads. And if I do then I get to play with the new photo app on my phone instead of *____* (insert cleaning chore here). This is how I motivate myself! A bit sad, but true.

9:00- I have a love/hate relationship with the laundry. Love that I get to sit down and enjoy a show while folding said laundry, hate that I get done folding laundry before my show is over!! (also enjoyed a 3^rd cup of coffee while folding laundry!)

9:33- text from Jon saying he made it to Hugoton. I love this man of mine.

9:50- cleaning. Always cleaning something in this house full of boys. But I would rather have a home full of kids, always in need of something being cleaned than an empty home where everything always stayed clean.

10:50- last load of laundry going into the washer…it is the load where I have to pre-treat almost everything. Boys are SO DIRTY!!

11:15- as I was hanging up Jon and I’s “usually wrinkles” laundry (before it wrinkled...impressive! I just earned more app playtime minutes!) I once again marveled at my DIY laundry room space. It is not big…an oversized closet really… but by putting a hanging rod up it became more functional. AND now Jon’s work clothes are hardly ever wrinkled!! My next DIY for the room is putting a counter top across the washer and dryer so I can actually fold clothes in there…. with the door shut…. when kids are home.

11:25- PTO computer work. It. Never. Ends.

11:40-11:55- Chatted with Patrick Schroeder (principle at the elementary school) about a PTO project.

12:00p- tried to contact Tina Bruning about the PTO project… left a message.

12:21- taking a “work” break. Uploading 295 pictures that I took this past week/weekend. I love taking pictures. I love being able to tell our stories with both words and photos. This is my passion. And I hope that one day when the boys look back on all the pictures and stories they don’t say “holy moly our mom really was crazy. WHO takes 57 pictures of ONE sunset??” HAHA! (just for the record, it was only 53 pictures of that particular sunset. Digital rocks!)

12:55- really need to eat lunch but nothing looks good. Settle for leftover pizza on a Ronald McDonald plate. Oh yea. Stylin’!

1:30- finally start “fixing” my hair. As in, I am actually going to do something with my hair. I like my “pull it up in a messy bun EVERYDAY” style but every now and then ya just gotta change it up.

1:45-2- Mom called. It was a nice “break” from “hair fixin” and I love chatting with Mom. She found a “penny from Heaven” and picked it up. It was a 1984 penny which is the year that her dad (Grandpa Hessman) died. Just his way of reminding her that he is watching over her from up above. I love pennies from Heaven! And I love that she found this one on a day in a week that has been stressful for her. And I love that she called to tell me about it.

2:20- hair is finally done. Looks awesome. I may try this again…in a couple months! I took a picture of it…and posted it to FB as proof that I do every once in a great while, fix my hair. And that I….OH DAMN!! The proof is now out there in cyper space that I do in fact know how to actually “do” my hair. Thank Goodness Jon does not have FB….or instagram. HA!

2:45- head to EES to pick up copies of the PTO agenda that Tracy printed for me (she rocks!!!) and to make copies of the financials for tonight’s meeting before the boys get out of school.

3:05-3:45- hang out in the front entry way of the school with Brady and Anthony while waiting on JT to finish guitar lessons (who by the way, is learning to play on a Phineas and Ferb guitar!!! SWEET!). Anthony and Brady do their homework (I play on my phone and return emails) so it is done and we can play outside when we get home. It is 67 degress out and we are not gonna waste any of this GORGEOUS February weather!!! (it will most likely snow tomorrow. Kansas weather has Tourette’s.)

3:50- home. Snack time outside. JT “finally eating my Fun Dip. I waited ALL day to get home to eat this”!

4:00- Game on! A little (seriously little goal) bball on the patio.

4:32- selfie. Phone malfunctioning now. (and yes, this is the last picture my phone took today. Oh Darn.)

4:45- Brady came in covered in very smelly gross water. Yep, I just love snow melt.

5:00- Teresa Pearson called asking if I could take over teaching the First Grade YFF class until Anita is out of the hospital. I am honored she would ask me to teach the class. And a bit excited…..and scared! Sent up Prayers for Anita.

6:00- Boys did not want to come in for supper, and were in just long enough to scarf it down and then they were back outside. I would say we are all suffering from Spring/Cabin Fever.

6:30- packed up my PTO “stuff” for the meeting and packed an activity bag for the boys. Said a little prayer asking for a HUGE favor.

6:45-8:40- PTO meeting. I could get into all the specifics of the meeting but I was there. And it is not a meeting I will forget anytime soon. Lessons learned. I hate Roberts Rules. I hate meetings that run longer than 1 hour. I love PTO. I love that what we do helps our kids. I love working with the executive staff that we currently have. I may have jumped into being President of PTO with blinders on. They have since been ripped off. I survived. WE (executive board & members) will GROW this PTO. I LOVE OUR 3 BOYS WHO WERE THE BEST THEY HAVE EVER BEEN!!!! (Prayer answered!) They sat in the back of the meeting room (Jon is out of town and I didn’t have a sitter because I didn’t ask as it is a school night) and read their books, wrote in their notebooks, played on their Kindles and helped each other stay quiet. Until it came time to pack up and go home. Poor JT was SO tired that he was WIDE awake and temperamental. How awesome is it that he choose that particular moment, when the principle was standing there patiently waiting for us to gather the boys’ “stuff” to leave?? Oh yes, it was a full on “throw books, try to hose down the keyboards by squeezing his water bottle hard enough to squirt water everywhere, use not nice words” temper tantrum. Perfect. Next order of business, get the “stuff” gathered and kids out of the school/direct line of sight of the principle before I LAY DOWN THE LAW. Deep breathe. Again. And now again. Get in van. Seatbelts. Regroup thoughts. They were REALLY good all night. It is 1.5 hours past JT’s bedtime. It was a stressful meeting. Back off the punishment; chalk it up to a learning experience. Get home. Get them to bed. That is the new plan.

8:50- Plug in cell phone that died (most likely after the selfie at 4:32p), have boys get PJ’s on and brush teeth while waiting for phone to boot up so we can call Daddy. (this is that one time in the 9 months since cancelling our long distance on the land line that I regret cancelling the long distance on the land line.) We ALL need to hear Daddy’s voice. Hearing his voice will help soothe us.

9:00- Boys are finally in bed after having talked to Daddy, said night time prayers and given several rounds of hugs to me (man I needed those hugs!)

9:10-10:15- go in search of a bottle of wine. Finding none, I call Jon back to chat (vent). Remember that I need to call mom so I tell Jon I will call him back. Call mom and chat. Call Jon back…he wants to know when he can pick up the Kindle charger (that we left there over the weekend). Call mom back. Call Jon back…again. Losing my voice I finally say good night to Jon.

10:15- watch something on TV…actually it was just on for noise as I played on my Kindle and finished unwinding for the day (it was on a sports channel, which apparently is my choice of “noise” when Jon is gone).

11:30- crawl into bed….with the living room lights still on. I can’t sleep in the dark when Jon is not home. I have to have the living room or kitchen lights on. They are my “safety blanket” when he is not here. I fall asleep thanking God for my family and for the dawn of a new day in which we can start over. Leave yesterday where it belongs, in the past, and begin a new day. A fresh start. Building on yesterday but not reliving/repeating yesterday.

I am SOOOO hitting the SNOOZE button tomorrow morning. At least twice. Getting up when the alarm first goes off is totally over-rated.

A little hearing, a little thinking, a lot of Thanks

Today during Mass I actually heard/paid attention to the homily. This in and of itself is a bit of a minor (very minor in the grand scheme of life) miracle. With 3 young boys just making it to Mass without someone (usually mom or dad) crying is amazing. To actually make it through Mass AND remember what was said/read/sung….MIRACLE. Seriously.

SO today’s homily I actually heard. And liked. Short form: “God’s way is narrow. The world’s way is wide.” Even while Father was giving his homily I was singing the song that coincides with this phrase. Love that song! Okay back on topic. So all day today I have been thinking about the Wide world and Narrow path to God. Also been thinking about turning 40 in 2 months and the fact that Jon and I are celebrating 10 Married years this Friday (30th)! Which all made me decide to dig out my old journal and (still new-ish) wedding album.

From my journal, written when I was 20: Where/who will you be in 20 years? “Married with 5 children, a couple dogs, and a nice spread in the country. Living near a metro area where I will be earning a living as a concert violinist or a vocal soloist. Hope to be near my 3 brothers and their families. (shorten version)

From our Wedding album: Where will you and your spouse be in 10 years? “Together. Hopefully with 5 children, our 2 dogs and a nice little place in the country. I hope to be able to stay home with the children while Jon works for KDOT.

Reality: 

1. I did not become a concert violinist or vocalist, although I still enjoy singing and playing the violin and viola.

2. We do not have 5 children. We have 3 beautiful and perfect for us boys. And I am thankful every day for them. We are not planning for more, but you just never know what God’s plan may be!

3. We thankfully do not live near a metro area but neither do we live the country. We live in a nice little rural town in the middle of Kansas. I love our little rural town. While it does have it’s “quirks” it fits us perfectly.

4. We do live relatively near 2 of my brothers…..they and their families are within 2 hours driving distance of us. My brother Tom passed away 10 years ago this October. Miss him, everyday. God’s will is that he be our guardian Angel….and I know we have kept him very busy! Thanks Tom

5. Jon and I are very much together. And that makes me very happy and extremely proud. We are so strong together. We have endured our tests and together we are stronger for them. We will continue to endure… because we are just too damn stubborn to do anything else! (And we are still very much head over heals in love with each other!!)

6. I am able to stay home with the boys although Jon is not with KDOT any more, he is very happy working for Kirkham Michael.

So while the above is just a shortened overview of the past 10 years of our married life, it gives a very good view that it is not my way, but God’s way that prevails. I wanted a very wide variety of things in our life, while God has very specifically said that there are things we don’t need. And what we want is not necessarily what is best for us. It is a very hard lesson to learn. I hope that I am able to finally learn it in the next 10 years. If not, I will be thankful that our God is a very forgiving and Loving God. And I will just keep trying. It is not easy. But I will keep trying.

I wonder where we will be in 10 years????

Stacey

Ahhh. The first day of School….

Mom’s up early and in the kitchen cooking a breakfast for her family, all showered and looking like a million bucks. Dad is in the bedroom helping the boys get dressed…all the while there is laughing, joking and happy words being exchanged. Everyone sits down to the table together to enjoy breakfast and family time. The boys are ready for school early, so we have time to read Pocket Full of Kisses, take lots of pictures, and casually make our way to school in a very non-rushed, have all the time in the world, this is gonna be a smokin’ awesome day kinda way.

HELLO REALITY!!!!!!

Yep, I was in the kitchen frantically making muffins for breakfast, except for JT who wanted (and got) a leftover hotdog. I was showered, with hair still dripping wet, and as I would soon realize only 1 shaved leg.  Anthony was up, dressed, helped a bit with the muffins, then dumped the trash…literally...all over the kitchen floor. Got that cleaned up, went to make sure Brady was moving towards the “completely dressed” stage….nope still sleeping. By this point the smiley happy words were becoming a bit “less smiley”. Let Jon take over there as Brady and I are oil and water first thing in the morning…we need our morning “coffees” first. JT is now “bored”…SERIOUSLY??? FINE. Let’s just go outside and take the pictures. Nooo, don’t worry about smiling, really don’t worry about it. I like pictures of grumpy kids. Who doesn’t? AUGH. Deep Breath. Again. Keep repeating. Well this is just not working. Hugs. Yep that is just what we all needed.

Fast forward a bit to the school gym… Anthony promptly found his line and took seat, I snapped a quick picture…I will be right back. Took Brady to his line, snapped a couple more pictures….I will be right back. Took JT to his line…snapped a pic, took a deep breath, snapped another…oh crud. Turned away, wiped the tears (never let them see you cry on the first day of Kindergarten…they might follow suit)…I will be right back. See Brady messing with his hearing aides…CRAP! forgot to change the batteries. Good thing he has extra in his book bag. Mr. Schroedar (principle) starts talking, sing National Anthem, more words, Pledge of Allegiance, classes dismissed. NO! WAIT! Were did Anthony’s class go? Out the other side of the gym…down a different hallway…I missed him leaving. And as I was frantically looking for Anthony, I almost missed Brady leaving with his class. But I saw JT, as he turned with the biggest smile on his precious little face, waving and saying “bye mom. bye dad”. Ahhhh. sniffle, sniffle. sigh.

We were all nervous about today. Anthony is starting 3rd Grade, which is in a different wing…the one we have always referred to as the “big kids” wing. Suddenly he’s not sure he wants to be a “big kid”. Brady is starting 1st Grade and his teacher is brand new to our district. Exciting but also an unknown for him which has thrown him off a bit. JT starts kindergarten. He is excited, nervous, scared, happy….and I even heard him whisper to Jon “I think I might gonna miss mommy” AHHHH! Jon, well he is our ROCK. He gets a bit choked up every year when this day rolls around but he is our rock. Me, well let’s just say that an empty house has never been so silently loud. I have the ipod cranked and all I can hear is the kid silence. And the screen is getting a bit blurry as the tears are still freely flowing.

I know the boys are all in great hands, our teachers are amazing. I know that they all have to leave the nest, spread their wings and fly. I also know that right at this very moment, if the person who first uttered those words was standing in front of me….well they would no longer be standing. Right at this very moment I want to go back to the school bring the boys home and listen to them play, fight, laugh and live. I want them here to console me because for the past 8 1/2 years I have been a stay at home mom of 3 boys with at least one of those boys home with me 95% of the time. I want the boys home because I know who I am when they are here. I am mom, maid, referee, team coach, teacher, healer, crazy game inventor, fixer of “almost” everything.

So who am I now?

We always encourage the boys at the start of every school year to “enjoy this. You will love this class and at the end of the year you will be smarter, older, happier, and ready to tackle the next challenge. I suppose it is time that I take our advice.

Deep Breath. Here I go…. watch out Ellsworth! (I would say watch out world…but, baby steps. Just baby steps for now!)

Stacey

A Snow Day and A Stay At Home Mom….

So I over heard a conversation….and I should have kept walking instead of listening but what I heard was this, “yeah, well us stay at home moms don’t get snow days. It’s just another day….” at this point I have to admit that I was in complete agreement. But as today continued to pass, I kept thinking. I could treat today and tomorrow as just another day for me and snow days for the boys, or I could take a snow day too.

So I will. I will take the day(s) “off”. Instead of worrying about the laundry being caught up, I will play in the snow. Instead of mopping the floors, I will paint messily with the boys. Instead of worrying about completing the next several pages of layouts, I will take tons of pictures and record the story of now. I will take “just another day” and make it another day with my ever growing, ever changing family. I will take “just another day” and enjoy them being young. I will take “just another day” and read books to them, ask them questions about what they want to be when they grow up. I will take “just another day” and really listen to what my boys are saying not just with their words but with the way that they are treating each other. I will take “just another day” to instill in them the life lessons that we want them to know and take with them through their lives. I will take “just another day”. 

I am sure there will be points in the next few days that I will doubt the words that I have written here. In fact I am 100% sure I will, as I am breaking up the 100th “scuffle” of the day. But I will also be making a more concentrated effort to enjoy “just another day” and to find every possible teaching moment and use it, to it’s fullest potential. Our children are only young once, and while there are times (oh how many times there have been) that I have wished they would just “grow out of this stage already”, I am also (finally) able to recognize that they and I have to go through these many stages of life to learn all the lessons to become the best possible person and parent. I will always have just another day to do the laundry, mop the floors, dust… but how many more snow days will we have to take “just another day”?

Enjoy all of life’s precious moments

Stacey

tags, LO’s and resolutions…..

Well hello there! I have been busy getting into the swing of this new year. Yes, I realize it is now February…I never said that I am a quick swinger  

Believe it or not, I am not one to actually make New Year’s Resolutions BECAUSE I never even try to keep them. It’s like when you are thinking about trying something new and fun and then someone tells you that you have to do it, not because it is fun but because it will make you a better________ … Yeah I ‘m no longer interested in doing it. Period. So this year I decided to just be better at some things…not actually make a resolution, just do better! Such as actually sending everyone in my family (aunts, uncles, first cousins & their families) cards for their birthdays. I have always “meant” to do this and usually even get the card mostly made. Yes, you read that right. Mostly made. And by the time I make myself finish the card there is no way that it will actually reach the birthday person on time so the card gets put into a crate. Yeah, nothing comes next. It just gets put into the “cards that I cared enough to make but not send” crate. Blah. So I am trying to do better on this one. And I am proud to say that II have accomplished this goal for 2 months straight! Again, I realize that this is the very beginning of February but all 6 of the family birthday’s fall within the first 14 days of the month, so yes, those cards have been made are a currently residing in the Post Office mailbox waiting for the postmaster to retrieve them first thing tomorrow morning!

I have also been staying on top of my memory preserving…. or as my boys call it “momma in her scrapbooking cave again” and we won’t mention what my Dear Hubby calls it I even have one to share with you today. It is based on the 5th February Challenge at Scraptastic Club. The super talented Heather came up with the fabulous sketch. As soon as I say it, I knew exactly what picture I was going to use! I was so inspired by the sketch that it only took me 1 hour to complete the LO!!!

I use the Days of Our Lives kit from Scraptastic. It came together so easy!

Now if only my printer would work so I could print the picture! It is a picture of Brady at swimming lessons and it is actually a really horrible quality picture from my phone…because the day that I had brought the good camera Brady would not even get in the water. SO I left the camera at home thinking that I was not going to need it. Boy was I wrong! Brady was a fish that day! He was so excited about jumping into the water by himself and then going “whole head” under water. He jumped out of the pool, ran to me and said “You come take a picture. Now. Mom.” (I was so proud… he sounded just like me!!) So we captured the moment in a not so good picture with an awesome story to go with it!! And that, my dear friends, is what scrapbooking is truly about.

I have also been playing with products out of my comfort zone, and since this has turned into a rather long post (which my not happen if I would actually post on a regular basis!) I will just so you the pictures and let you know that I am having a fabulous time learning how to take plain, ordinary, boring manila tags and make them into bookmarks, birthday cards, thank you notes….. the list is unending! I used dylusions ink spray by Ranger to make these and then once dry, I stamped and embossed them with various stamps that I have.

        

Enjoy the moments!

Stacey

Mom, Mom, MOM! COME SEEEEE ME!!

 

There is no happier sound to a mom than a child crying out “Mom come see me! Watch what I can do!” And that is just the sound that I heard through the kitchen window last April. I looked up from washing dishes and saw Anthony riding his bike in the back lot with no training wheels and daddy trying to keep up with him The sight melted my heart completely! So by the time I got myself pulled back together, hands dried and camera located, they had moved to the front yard. Anthony was unstoppable…although he had a minor “oops” while trying to turn to sharply so he went into the garage and found his helmet and his soccer socks Too stinking cute!!

This LO is based on another fabulous sketch by Heather Landry and is also Challenge #4 for the Scraptastic Club.

Enjoy all of life’s moments.

Stacey