On falling behind

A couple of weeks ago the leaves on the tree in my front yard changed color and fell. It's about time I thought, it's January!
This fall the leaves were behind schedule, and they got me thinking. I can relate to those leaves. I feel like I am always behind on my list of things to do. I almost always get "the list" done, but I'm usually behind schedule.
You know what? Even though the leaves were late we still went out and played in them. They were still fun, and they still looked pretty scattered across that green grass. Hearing them crunch under our feet was still so satisfying.
So I am turning over a new leaf (no pun intended). From now on when I sit at the end of another long day and look at my to-do list only halfway completed, I am not going to beat myself up. I am going to get up the next day and do the next item on the list. And when it's crossed off I will still find satisfaction in it's completion. Late or Not!

Focus?

There are days when I have a hard time finding balance. I love my kids and I want to give them my undivided attention. I want to play with them and I want them to know I am always there when they need me. There is also that whole thing about keeping the house in order, grocery shopping, preparing well balanced meals etc. I am actually getting tired just thinking about this. Is it this hard for everyone? I find it so challenging to balance household duties with "kid time". On top of that - I am just gonna come out and say it - I want time for myself! I need time to pursue my interests, time with Nick, and time to just... blog! You know what I mean, right? I want a day where I spend all day playing with the kids and don't feel guilty about letting the house go. Or how about a day in which I spend all day cleaning and I don't feel guilty that I didn't play with my kids at all.
I thought maybe venting about this would make me feel better. Then I thought of the following things. #1 I have an extremely supportive husband who does more than his share around the house (poopy diapers included) after working or going to school all day. #2 Some women do all this and have a full time job. Wow! I think I feel worse now. I am going back to bed... not really but if I could I would!




If you noticed my incomplete sentence... I did too!

"You are the most opinionated person I have ever met."

Yes, somebody once said this to me.

No, it wasn't a compliment.

It wasn't an insult... but it wasn't a compliment either. It was expressed in astonishment at the sheer number of opinions I had given in the roughly 2-3 hours I had known this person.

The really scary part is it's true; I probably was the most opinionated person he'd ever met. I'm probably the most opinionated person you've ever met too. The problem is I sometimes forget that my opinion about most things doesn't really matter. And though I'm positive there are a few people who actually enjoy having it forced on them - most don't.

I consider myself a passionate person. As a passionate person I sometimes get carried away sharing my passionate opinions. I know it's shocking! I may be passionate about the color of your shoelaces, or where you go to college, or even what you name your dog. But let's face facts - nobody want to hear it and it's none of my business anyway.

On some level I realize this and most of the time I keep myself in check. That is, the only person who has to hear about your shoelaces at the end of the day is my poor husband. Occasionally though, I get out of control. I have been known to get overexcited and maybe even start small arguments over trivial issues. (You can stop gasping in disbelief now).

During the heat of the moment I don't realize that it has become a debate.

My goal is simply to talk until I convince you that I am right... oh... wait... I get it now.

So if you or someone you love has, or ever does become the subject of one of these passionate shoelace tirades, I apologize. Please don't take it personally. Chances are great that on the way home my lovely husband will call me on my argumentative ways and I will feel ashamed and embarrassed by my disdainful my behavior.

Look at it this way - I care enough about you and your shoelaces to have a "passionate opinion" about them.

It's a big flaw, I know.
It's a lifetime goal of mine to overcome it...
and it may actually take me a lifetime so wish me luck!

The grapefruit syndrome continued...

I was planning on writing an enlightening post outlining my thoughts about this inspired little story and how it applies to my life. My mind is swimming with thought provoking tidbits just screaming to be put into print... but I am tired today. Oh and also I have three children to tend: Number 2 is on a destructive rampage today. Number 1 is currently crying over a toy that was unceremoniously ripped from her possession. At least sweet baby number 3 is snoozing away:) In light of the situation I have decided on the short and sweet version.

This story could have been written about Nick and I. He is constanly over-looking my faults. He lets me rant and rave and say what I need to say and stays steady. As cliche as it sounds he is my rock. Without him I wouldn't have a calm, rational side. I know there are times when he has to think I am crazy, but he never says it. He just flashes that mischevious grin (if you know him, you know what I'm talking about) and keeps on loving me. Now how could a girl be expected to live without that?

Oh and you don't have to tell me that my short version was longer than most people's long version. It always is.

The grapefruit syndrome

As a newlywed Sister Lola Walters read in a magazine that in order to strengthen a marriage a couple should have regular, candid sharing sessions in which they would list any mannerisms they found to be annoying.

She wrote:
"We were to name five things we found annoying, and I started off.
...I told him that I didn't like the way he ate grapefruit. He peeled it and ate it like an orange! Nobody else I knew ate grapefruit like that. Could a girl be expected to spend a lifetime, and even eternity, watching her husband eat grapefruit like an orange?"
After I finished [with my five], it was his turn to tell the things he disliked about me...[He] said, 'Well, to tell the truth, I can't think of anything I don't like about you, Honey.'"

Gasp.

"I quickly turned my back, because I didn't know how to explain the tears that had filled my eyes and were running down my face."

Sister Walters concluded:
"Whenever I hear of married couples being incompatible, I always wonder if they are suffering from what I now call the Grapefruit Syndrome"

I used to do laundry once a week

When My husband and I were first married I did the laundry... ok who am I kidding. He did the laundry, until I quit working to go back to school full time. Then I began doing laundry. There was no schedule, it was just done at my whim or when said husband got annoyed that he was out of clean underwear!

After our first child was born things got a little more serious. I had to devise a 'cleaning schedule' in order to get things accomplished. Monday was laundry day. I washed one load of our clothes and one load of baby clothes every Monday. Then we had our second child... and to my surprise the schedule stayed the same: I did laundry on Mondays. (Except during his first two weeks of life when he soaked through his clothes and my clothes every time he went).
At this point in life I paused to congratulate myself. Two babies under two and I still only do laundry on Mondays. Now that's impressive! Then the third child came along. Now I do laundry EVERYDAY.
So what I am wondering here is how did one little boy tip the balance? Family of three - routine starts, family of 4 - routine continues as usual, family of 5 - routine thrown out the window? This turn of events just baffles me. I guess I'll never figure it out. But I'm definitely not congratulating myself anymore. Maybe that's where I went wrong in the first place:) I am beginning to wonder what will happpen when we have the next one. I mean I'm literally running out of days - to do laundry that is! Maybe we just need more clothes... hmmm I'll have to ponder that one!

My favorite poem

To My Dear and Loving Husband

If ever two were one, then surely we.
If ever man were lov'd by wife, then thee.
If ever wife was happy in a man,
Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
I prize thy love more than whole Mines of gold
Or all the riches that the East doth hold.
My love is such that Rivers cannot quench,
Nor ought but love from thee give recompence.
Thy love is such I can no way repay.
The heavens reward thee manifold, I pray.
Then while we live, in love let's so persever
That when we live no more, we may live ever.

Anne Bradstreet

Me and My Babies

Fun with the camera!


Ainsley being serious

Rand being chubby

Channing picking his nose!
(didn't know he was doing this until I downloaded the pictures)

I feel left out.

When I look at other people's blogs I always see all the fun crafty things they make. I feel left out because I never make fun crafty things. But then I remembered my SPIDERMAN light switch plate...

In case you're wondering Channing has a spiderman room, and if you ever come to our house the FIRST thing Nick will do is show it to you (even before he says hello). He decorated it himself, but I made the light switch plate. HA!

Question of the day?

Why are fat rolls SO cute on a baby and so NOT cute on a grown up?

Two Cute Boys

My Dream...

My dream would be to be able to go to the bathroom or sleep in until 7am (after being up all night with a fussy baby) without coming out to find two kids that had destroyed something. Well I'll give them this - the only time they don't fight is when they are scheming to make their mom crazy. I woke up this morning to find them sitting at the table eating, actually more like wearing, chocolate pudding for breakfast. Then they got into my purse and scattered everything all over the house. This kind of stuff really gets me going. So now instead of blowing up I try to look at it as an opportunity to blog. I love my life today!

The guilty parties with the contents of my purse. (not the plastic cups, the wallet and sunglasses)



Just heard fridge door open and milk jug crash to floor ... yes I know those sounds from the other room:) And yes it's a horrible day to be blogging, but it is calming me while I prepare to assess the damage. Before I go I wish myself luck... and patience!

Quote Of The Week

"Yet it would be your duty to bear it, if you could not avoid it: it is weak and silly to say you CANNOT BEAR what it is your fate to be required to bear."
-Helen Burns in "Jane Eyre"

Because he's the cutest!

If you are going to the store... bring your wallet!

My kids each have a total of about two outfits that actually fit them and are suitable for public viewing. Today I decided to load the three of them in the car and go to Target to peruse the clearance racks. We looked at everything and I found some pretty good deals. While I was checking out I realized my wallet was not in my bag. I asked the cashier if she could hold the items at the register for ten minutes while I drove home to get my wallet. She couldn't handle this complex request on her own so she called her supervisor and asked if it was ok. The supervisor said no because the items were from the clearance rack. Apparently its not playing fair to hold clearance items (for ten minutes). I then asked her if I could hang them all together so I could find them when I came back. Her response "oh we'll put them all back where they came from and I can't guarantee where they'll be." At this point I am thinking - "look at me with a three year old, a two year old, and a newborn who is crying. Give me a freakin' break and bend a rule. Does it look like I get out a lot?" - I am seriously irritated by now and I leave the store. I consider not returning at all and hoping Target will really suffer from the loss of my one lousy purchase. I soon realize that they won't care. I really wanted the clothes and who knows when I'll make it back. I decided to drive home, get my wallet, drive back, unload the children again and hunt down every last item. That'll really stick it to the man right? In reality I know this makes very little sense! It changes nothing about my plan. I return to the store and I can't find any of my items on the racks. After a series of radio calls and a few trip from the front of the store to the back I find the original cashier and ask her about said items. It turns out she left them under the counter after all. I wish she would have just told me this in the first place. Then I wouldn't have had to get so worked up about the whole thing. She checked me out and I was so happy I didn't have to hunt down every item that I bought my kids an icee.

There are a few lessons to this story.
First, there are now two reasons why Target really drives me crazy: They won't hold clearance items. They also won't let you keep the hanger when you buy an article of clothing - as if they can't afford a new hanger - don't even get me started. That's a post for another day.
The second is that I am glad I was polite when I came back to the store. I really wanted to go back in and rage at everyone, especially when I didn't find my stuff right away. However, I decided to approach the situation with politeness and I'm glad I did. After all, the cashier technically did hold the clothes (even if she didn't let me know that). I would have felt extremely stupid and a little ashamed if I had been rude to her and then found out everything was waiting in the front.

In conclusion -
If you have actually read this far I owe you a kidney or something of equal importance. I guess that's the beauty of this blog. I can write whatever I want for as long as I want and you can read it, or not. Either way it's free therapy for me!

The beginning...

I have another blog. I usually think of it as my "family blog". I hesitate to personalize it too much because I want it to be about my kids and husband and what we're up to as a family rather than my personal rants and raves. I do, however, love blogging and journaling of any kind so I have decided to venture off on my own so to speak. That is what brings us here. Let the fun begin!