Tonight was mommy night which should not be confused with a regular mommy day. Whenever I have plans such as Poplin shows, book club or mama's night out the boys get a daddy night. They squeal with excitement and beg to wrestle or play catch; everyone in the family enjoys daddy nights. Since my hubby is a bit of a home body and doesn't have the same friend time needs that I do mommy nights on the other hand are rare. They do however happen and when they do I do my very best to make the most, to make them memorable yet different than daddy nights.
It was 5pm and we were still in our pajamas with little desire or motivation to change that. The weather was not inviting us outside and although the boys would have loved to make a pop-in visit to nama and grandpa they just slept there last night so I distracted them with...an indoor egg hunt.
Every year before Easter I dig out the plastic eggs and let the kids go wild. For the next week we will have mismatched eggs all over the house, some empty, some filled with random objects and even though every year I am cursing those plastic eggs they always reappear. As the boys asked a million questions about our egg hunt (which let me just say I didn't plan or really think through) I realized there were no treats to fill the eggs. I had already tricked the boys into thinking cereal was treats for our pre-nap bingo game so I knew that wasn't going to work again. As much as I don't want to admit it, the three of us threw on rain boots, piled in the van and went into public, the grocery store in our jammies on a mission for treats. The entire time Stacey and Clinton from "What Not to Wear" were haunting my mind, I could see them cringing saying "take pride in your look even at the grocery store" but hey I did throw on a cute hat and my kids were wearing shoes (crocs over top footy pj's).
We got the treats, I filled the eggs and the boys could hardly stand the anticipation. Pacey pie tried hard to close his eyes while I hid the eggs but he just couldn't resist the urge to peek.
The eggs hiding places were not well thought out or clever but that didn't matter. Trexen skipped through the house with a big smile and Pacey screamed "YES!" with every find.
After our egg hunt I decided to continue with the Easter theme and make shaving cream cards.
It's funny but this is exactly how I operate with the kids, projects are usually not planned, I scramble around as fast as I can to get it ready and it's usually a mess BUT we had fun. Somehow marble painting with shaving cream turned into a giant blue blob with both boys covered in it. At one point I decided if you can't beat them join them so I dug in too.
A little snuggling on the couch and eight books wrapped up our mommy night. Trexen went to bed with his Easter basket, a soft horse whom he named "Galahad". When I asked him about the name he said, "oh mom I just made it up", guess he gets that from me. I am still in my same jammies, have a strong shaving cream smell lingering around me and have taken my place on the couch. Good Night All.
I had always said if I have boys I want them to be all boy, you know outdoorsy, rough and tough, athletic, etc. However I also knew it would be difficult raising boys because although I want all boy I also want sweet, caring boy. I think this battle for the right balance will be ongoing for many years but this week I have captured the "all boy" side of things.
As I step on hot wheels, jump at the same purple stretchy snake laying in our bathroom and try my best to hook tractors up just right to wagons I can only laugh. If I don't laugh I may cry because sometimes I get frustrated and tired of these boy things. The other night I boldly declared to my husband, "how would you like it if everyday you had to dress dolls and try to braid hair just to be told mommy does it better". I thought it was a good comparison but he just told me to get over it and think of all the useful things I am learning. Ugh, no sympathy, fine I will continue to refine my track building skills, brush up on farm equipment terms, monitor wrestling matches and embrace sleepovers with boy cousins.
Super fox has joined us this week (Trex made the hat at story hour and won't take it off) so my new adventure is finding things for him to round up and scare away.
You know like letting the chickens out and letting the fox scare them back to the coup, or keeping my eye out for hawks so super fox can come to the rescue...just another week in boyville.
I started babysitting on my own around age 12 which to me now as a mom seems absolutely crazy. I don't think I would leave my boys with a 12 year old but maybe that is just because they can be difficult and are a lot for adults to handle at times. But when I was that age I remember getting annoyed with parents when they were hesitant to leave or when they would call and check in a thousand times or when they already had all the food layout and labeled- like I couldn't make dinner. Fast forward to now though and I probably would feed my kids dinner at 3pm just to avoid that chaos with a sitter.
As a babysitter I was fun, on the floor building train tracks, busting out the play-doh even when the kids said, "oh mommy doesn't let us play with that", making shakes before dinner, turning on the sprinkler just because and soaking up the smiles all the while. The kids loved it, I became a regular and over time was a part of these families and they were a part of me. I always said I want to be just like this as a mom, fun and spontaneous. However sometimes I find myself sticking to a schedule, washing dishes or laundry instead of playing, thinking about the mess and clean-up instead of the fun and just being to practical.
Generally it is the 4o'clock hour that challenges me the most, when my inner babysitter is most needed. So as the kids were losing it and I was finishing dinner I grabbed a bucket, squirted in soap and threw 2 rags out the back door. Oh they thought it was awesome to scrub the patio furniture, water and boys go together like peanut butter and jelly.
Even when Trexen decided to wash himself I just smiled, he said "mommy you are fun" and I felt connect to to the inner babysitter in me.
Yesterday after a long day of teaching, constant talking, redirection and behaviour charts I was exhausted and had a sore throat. The boys wanted a snack and I wanted something cool so... we had root beer floats before dinner.
As we giggled and said. "what would daddy say? no, no, no!" it felt good to throw out practical and pretend to have lost all my rational mommy sense. We spread out a picnic blanket in the shade, sipped our floats and were completely present in the moment.
The inner babysitter can't come out everyday or it wouldn't be special but occasionally she will shine.
You know those dreaded family gatherings filled with awkward moments, fights about religion or politics and everyone just counting down until dessert is over so they can make a mad dash for the car...well our Sunday dinners are completely opposite. Every single Sunday my family gets together not just for dinner or to be fed but because we want to spend time together.
Most Sundays we meet at my mom's house and my grandma cooks a delicious meal. For my husband and others the food is one of the main attractions, not for me though, I could care less what we actually eat I just love the togetherness. Tonight we gathered at our house for a cookout (yes mid-March) to celebrate my dad's birthday and once again Sunday dinner came through.
No matter where we are or what the meal is Sunday dinners always guarantee laughter, loud conversations that escalate as everyone gets excited, wild little boys running around with huge smiles, lots of hugs and kisses, honest conversations, talks about God, enough food for a week and spectacular dessert.
There is no dress code, no one ever has to put on a show and each person takes their turn playing with the boys making them feel incredibly loved.
I am so thankful for family and for Sunday dinners. To us this is normal, we can't wait to see each other but I think it is also kind of rare, a unique situation. Having an entire family that gets along and enjoys each other is amazing.
Although Pacey tried hard to keep nama here tonight everyone has gone and this Sunday dinner is a memory but there will be many more to come.
Growing up I dreamed of having three girls. My family has three girls, I love girly things, know how to play with girl toys and could picture myself with a room full of bunk beds and girls. Somewhere in the mix of reality, lines got crossed and God must have thought I was saying "boys" instead of "girls" because soon I will have three boys. I still struggle every day with this thought and am trying to find peace while life rolls on.
Today at church it was Compassion Sunday and all about the new partnership between Heartland and Compassion International. Our lead pastor showed pictures of his two trips to Kenya, explained this new relationship with a church across the country and expressed how life changing it is to sponsor a child. He was telling us how thousands and thousands of kids die each day due to poverty, hunger, sickness, etc. We watched videos of sponsor children and their sponsors getting a glimpse into their powerful stories.
As I listened I thought about the child I chose to sponsor eight years ago. I went on a mission trip with a good friend of mine, completely out of my comfort zone, scared yet excited traveled to the country of Guatemala with twelve other people. I didn't know what to expect, if my inner ear/motion sickness issues would hold me back or how it would change my life. I ended up experiencing the trip of a lifetime and made the decision to sponsor a child from the same town we worked, lived and became a part of for those two weeks.
Meet Lilian Sophia Baran Cuc
This small girl with terrible pneumonia and in desperate need of medical care caught my eye on a table filled with children waiting to be chosen. I read multiple profiles and she tugged at my heart, she was sick, her family didn't have electricity, she had an older sister and her dad was a baker. Wow, she was the one God nudged me towards and I was ready to change her life. Little did I know she would change mine just as much.
A year after that trip I was fortunate enough to go back and this time brought Jeff. We were engaged at the time and he was terrified, completely out of his comfort zone and unsure of the whole thing. With most things my husband has to be convinced, gently pushed and often just plain forced into and this was something I felt so strongly about. I knew a trip to an extremely poor community and time with my sponsor family would rock his world. Guess what...I was right. We worked hard, took Lily and her family out for pizza and brought them supplies but mostly felt God more than ever.
A few months after I got married I was able to take my sisters to this same community, introducing them to my Guatemalan family and showing them life altering experiences. I brought Lily and her sister fake American Girl dolls, they weren't the real thing but close. When they opened this small gift I was overcome with emotion, tears streaming down my cheeks. Pure and udder joy filled their faces and as I snapped pictures I noticed something even more powerful; look in the background, they have pictures of Jeff and I displayed in the center of their home.
I scanned the rest of their house realizing they had every single letter, picture and tangible item neatly displayed and while they were walking on mud floors, cooking over an open fire and sleeping in a tiny twin bed they were grateful. Their house looked like an old shed here in America but was one of the nicest in their neighborhoods. On my second trip I was able to give them a large sum of money collected from my family and church. This money allowed them to get cinder blocks for inner walls, beds and blankets which they couldn't stop thanking me for.
As I've let today's message sink in I realized I do have three girls. Lily, her older sister and now younger sister. Eight years ago I committed to not just this one child but her entire family. While I do my best to send pictures, letters and extra money it is easy to forget. We have their pictures all over the house, on the fridge, in my craft room and tucked in my mind yet time still manages to move forward and I forget to pray for them, forget to thank God for everything I have and how much the experience has changed me.
I will continue to pray, journal and dream of the day when my own daughter will enter our family as I do believe it will happen at some point some how. But for now I want to be more intentional praying and thinking about the three girls God has already blessed with me even though they live 3,000 miles away. Doing for one what you wish you could do for everyone (a great message from Andy Stanley) is what it's all about. I've changed her life and Lily continues to change mine.
I just don't have much to say this week which is somewhat unusual, I usually have at least a funny story or new project idea to share but that's not the case. My thoughts this week seem a bit stagnant, kind of like two steps forward in the positive attitude life is amazing direction and then a big step back keeping me just about where I was before.
Our week started off so well, it felt great to be home and welcomed with huge hugs and kisses from my boys. We had a Monday morning play date with friends, nothing special, all of us in sweats just sharing our weekend highs and lows. Those are always the best play dates, a quick text, nothing fancy but instead spontaneous with some slightly over-baked lemon muffins and conversation that flutters here and there.
Somehow though from there the week felt slightly off. We were busy but not chicken with my head cut-off busy (maybe I should stop using that phrase now that we actually own chickens) yet I didn't feel we ever got in the groove this week. I finished up two custom Poplin orders, both unique and completely different, bought a bunch of new fabric and made a plan for "need to make" items for my upcoming shows.
I taught a few days this week with one of the classes being fifth grade. It is funny to see the girls acting all giggly and "look at me" while the boys strut around like they are so macho when in reality they are all still just kids. As I watched each student I could almost match them up with old classmates of mine, thinking oh ya he will be like so and so and she will be the next so and so. We have a two year olds birthday party tomorrow so I spent time this week putting together a gift. You know me with themes, I just love them and for some reason set my sights on a bathtub gift theme. Found a bunch of ideas from DIY blogs and pinterest, made a giant mess in our already messy kitchen but in the end have a really cute basket filled with homemade bubble bath, lotion, toys and bath paints.
Our kitchen project is still going on, slowly yet surely coming together. My hubby has been hit with the stomach bug so a vacation day set aside to finish up projects was used up on sickness. The backsplash is all tiled though, we have a new stainless microwave and dishwasher and the range hood is up- not complete but up. The floors remain unfinished as we continue to debate our flooring choice and wait patiently for tax return money. I can see how it happens though that projects go unfinished for years. Everything is functioning, we have counters and all the necessary appliances making it difficult to find motivation late at night to accomplish anything. We did get the bathroom linen closet put back together and the cleaning supply closet is close so at least the nursery aka current storage room is slowly emptying out. Whether we are ready or not this baby will be here in 8 weeks or less and my belly seems to be the one constant thing in this house continuing to progress, move forward and grow.
I love having lots of thoughts, things to share and pictures to show but the quiet weeks are nice too. Pondering, praying (yes I am slowly getting my prayer life back on track) and deciding to keep things private is where I was at this week, maybe next week I will have more to say but for now enjoy your weekend and love the little things.
When I was younger I hated the country, despised all the trees surrounding our house and dreamed of living in a big city. I was going to work in business so I could dress all fashionable, live in a big city and be right in the middle of the action.
Many years later here I am living in the woods, thirty minutes from anything exciting, blogging in my sweats with maybe one fashionable skirt in my closest married to a country boy at heart. Funny the places life takes you, the paths we jump on and off and the ones that seem to fit us just right.
My trip to the big city, Washington DC, was solely to visit my little sister and spend time with family. My mom, middle sis and I boarded the plane sad to leave the boys at home but also anxious to get away for a bit. We shopped, did some sight seeing, slept in and got a taste of how my youngest sibling is living life in the city.
It fits her well at this point in life, her and her hubby live a block from all the hub-bub, know the metro system likes nobodies business and sleep til noon on Saturdays. They walk every where, spend 30+ minutes circling the same block looking for a tiny parking space and then gently "love tap" the other vehicles to fit theirs in between. The skill of parallel parking is a must, time is important yet completely flexible and any kind of cuisine you can imagine is within close vicinity.
I enjoyed the visit to the big city but kept thinking "what if your child has to pee and you can't find a parking spot" "what if you park 4 blocks away and have a trunk full of Target bags" "what if you just want quiet" "where do you teach your kids to play baseball or ride a bike". Of course city people have answers to all the questions but it's not the same, not like the midwest. Space is a way of life here, freedom to roam, run and explore.
I may live out of the action but my boys can step outside their door and walk trails, find toads, see deer and run until their legs can't go anymore. I may not have a closet full of fashionable business clothes but I am home and cuddled on the couch with my family. And my husband for sure is not the big city kind of guy but he is involved, puts me first and we have a great life. My little sis is living it up in the big city, doing big things for God and enjoying the married without kids life and I am happy for her. It is different, not better or worse just different. The path I'm currently on is much the same, different that I anticipated but just right for now.
