Believe it or not, I've done some Christmas shopping this week. YES PEOPLE, Christmas is coming and even though we aren't even to Halloween or Thanksgiving this gal has got to get crackin'. With 4 kids, a husband, 6 parents, 4 nieces, 1 nephew, 2 grandparents, 3 teachers and a whole host of other extras, it takes some time to plan, browse, shop, etc. So now is about the time of year I make a spreadsheet of who I need to buy for, how much to spend, gift ideas and I check it all off as I go. Yup, another list. Gifts are on the brain for the next 3 months...
This week, in particular, I was reminded of the gifts that are all around us every day. I am very fortunate to be studying Beth Moore's Bible series on James this fall. I am surprised at how this study is hitting me at a time when I really need it and it seems she is speaking just to me. (Those of you that have studied with Beth I am sure feel the same way!).
The first part of the week we began in the very beginning of James' letter..."Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1: 2-4). Beth challenged us to list trials we are under, hardships that we are facing. I thought for a minute, tried to come up with something that was a "trial" for me....and then my mind started to wander to a few family members, a friend and a member of the church that are all experiencing real trials right now be it of health, personal crisis or sorrow. How they all see to be so composed, so strong....so complete. I had to think "hey, maybe I don't have it so bad"....and then you realize they can be so amazing in the face of something so great, how can a person not pick themselves up by the boot straps and keep it together. There are people I know that just get bogged down by what seems to be so trivial, but I forget I don't know the whole story.
By day five of the study we read James 1: 17 "Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above..." We were asked to list the gifts of our lives. Maybe not so surprisingly, that list was much easier to make than the list of trials. Not one gift on my list (other than buying our home) was of material worth. It was more about the relationships, the memories, the lessons learned. The times when I was faced with a deeper trial, and the ability to find something within myself to work through it and grow as a person and in my faith.
We have gifts all around us, every day. Maybe we don't know it. Maybe we forget. Maybe we get lost among everyday life. Our relationships, talents, time, freedom & liberties, our ability to take time out and dive deeper into our faith without fear of religious persecution....all gifts. All great gifts.
Irregardless of what is wrapped and under the tree this Christmas season, I hope that the gifts that matter most to our kids, family and friends are the gifts we give because of who we are. The loving memories we create for our children out of the traditions we celebrate, the ability to be there in times of crisis and pain for our family and friends, the fact that we know those same people would be there for us in a heartbeat. I am so grateful for all the gifts in my life.
If you don't realize how blessed by gifts YOU are, I hope you will take the time to list all of your gifts as well.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
The passing of time
Time is a funny thing. Even though it may remain constant, how we pass the time or spend our time varies. It's odd how the same hour can either fly by when you are having fun, or seem to drag on indefinitely in the middle of uncertainty.
I have absolutely no idea where the last four years have gone. September 4, 2008 at 7:49 am and 7:49 am (yes, the SAME time), we welcomed Maya & Riley into this world and into our lives. The past four years have been a crazy whirlwind of joy and, at times, insanity. The girls have brought so much love into our family.
So, imagine my surprise when today, at 8:49 am I had to take my little girls to school for the very first time. Yes, on their 4th birthday they got to go to Pre-K. How did that happen? Where did my tiny little babies go. How did they grow up so fast?
The girls did well. No tears....from anyone, even Mommy! (Although when I asked the girls last night what they wanted to be when they grew up and Maya said "Just stay little" and Riley said "Be your little baby, Mommy", it kinda does tug at your heart strings a little. They may have been a little unsure when we were getting ready, but at the mention it was time to go they were out the door and into the truck. Backpacks on when we arrived and in they marched. Hardly a look in our direction once they hung up their backpacks, got their milk and started coloring. Hey, they had this down pat.
Once back at home I couldn't help but think back to 2008 when I laid in my hospital room waiting on the girls to be brought into me. I could not even have imagined at that moment in time just how much they would consume every part of my life. In a good way, I promise!!!!! I just couldn't believe how time had flown! On the flipside, that 2 1/2 hrs I had to wait at home til I could go pick them up seemed to drag on forever. Just wondering what they were doing, how they were doing....and I couldn't wait to see them and hear all about it.
I am sure the next 14 years will fly by and before I know it I'll be taking them off to college. (Ahhhh......let's not get ahead of myself). I am so proud of my big girls and all they are and all they will become! Here we go.....marching into the future!
I have absolutely no idea where the last four years have gone. September 4, 2008 at 7:49 am and 7:49 am (yes, the SAME time), we welcomed Maya & Riley into this world and into our lives. The past four years have been a crazy whirlwind of joy and, at times, insanity. The girls have brought so much love into our family.
So, imagine my surprise when today, at 8:49 am I had to take my little girls to school for the very first time. Yes, on their 4th birthday they got to go to Pre-K. How did that happen? Where did my tiny little babies go. How did they grow up so fast?
Maya Delaney: 9/4/08
Maya: 1st day of Pre-K, 9/4/12
Riley Pilar: 9/4/08
Riley: 1st day of Pre-K, 9/4/12
Once back at home I couldn't help but think back to 2008 when I laid in my hospital room waiting on the girls to be brought into me. I could not even have imagined at that moment in time just how much they would consume every part of my life. In a good way, I promise!!!!! I just couldn't believe how time had flown! On the flipside, that 2 1/2 hrs I had to wait at home til I could go pick them up seemed to drag on forever. Just wondering what they were doing, how they were doing....and I couldn't wait to see them and hear all about it.
I am sure the next 14 years will fly by and before I know it I'll be taking them off to college. (Ahhhh......let's not get ahead of myself). I am so proud of my big girls and all they are and all they will become! Here we go.....marching into the future!
Happy Birthday Maya & Riley
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Stuff
We have Too. Much. Stuff. Waaaayyyyyy too much. And no matter how much I try to control the vast amounts of stuff that lives in this house.....it multiplies. Seriously, every night it grows. Laundry, toys, books, craft supplies, hunting & fishing paraphernalia it can get crazy. The kitchen island bar is the dumping ground for mail, craft projects, "treasures" as it's right inside the front door. I am in constant purge mode. Clothes, books & toys that are out grown get passed down, sold or donated. I try to keep my closets purged of barely worn or wrong size clothes. The girls color dozens of color pages a day. I supposed I am a bad mom that I don't save every "masterpiece", but there are some special ones that do get tucked away. Otherwise when they aren't lookin'....in the trash they go!! I can only imagine the influx once the twins start pre-K in a few weeks. Bill's hunting & fishing room....well, that doesn't get touched and thank goodness it's locked up and I don't have to see it, or it would drive me bonkers! The garage.....oh my.......the horrible garage that we seem to clean every 3 months, add more racks & storage and vow to keep maintained.....and tools get dumped back without being put away, Bill's literature and sample totes get discarded when it's time for him to clean out his car, sidewalk chalk, bikes, & bubbles pile up. This DOES drive me bonkers when I try to pull the truck into the garage and run into half the STUFF that is there. Then we have to spend hours on a nice weekend afternoon trying to clean it back out again. Thank goodness the girls have a designated toy room in the basement....so when the end of the day comes and I just don't feel like making sure it's all picked up....the stuff stays where it is until the next day. At least if it's in the basement, I don't have to look at it.
Here is a picture of the toyroom taken recently. That thing can go from clean to destroyed in 60 seconds flat. The toyroom is adjacent to my home office. There is a bathroom and family room off of this room as well. So when I need to work at home for a bit, the girls are perfectly content to play away. I am trying to work at being more diligent at having them help pick stuff up. And they do good work and know where STUFF goes when it's time to get down to business. But usually it ends up an unbalanced work load and one of the girls picks up more while the other 2 wander off and get distracted by a book or a game.
And I sit here in the office blogging while the girls are in the room playing right now. However I look around this office and Bill's "amazing" filing system of piles of papers and samples thrown all over the floor and it's no wonder they feel it's acceptable to leave stuff lying around. I used to be a "save-every-scrap-of-paper-that -meant-anything or save-every-gift-ever-given" person. Not any more. Purge, discard, donate....whatever it takes to get this place manageable. I have probably spent hundreds of dollars in the past year buying more shelves, storage bins & units just to house this stuff. Bill said I'd have saved a lot of money if we just had less stuff. Yup!
I am encouraging the girls to start making decisions of their own on things it's time to pass down. They love to give things to their cousin "Baby Kate" or a friend's daughter "Baby Jasmyn." Every time I get rid of something as long as I tell them it went to one of those two, they are really fine with that!! So today I have plans to toss out that Hungry Hippos game that is missing like 1/2 of the white marbles and that puzzle that was given to us that is missing a piece right from the center. Seriously, they've got enough other stuff, what's a few games?
I recently repinned an item on Pintrest (seriously addicted to Pintrest) about having your kids collect unused/needed toys, books, games & clothes around the holiday and on Christmas Eve they should be placed in a large bag and left under the tree for Santa to collect and pass onto other kids that aren't as fortunate as we are. What a great idea! I wonder if I could come up with a holiday every month that required someone to stop by and pick up bags of unused items? In addition to getting rid of some of this stuff, I hope its a good tool to help the girls learn to think of others and to begin to ascertain the difference of what is really meaningful to them and what is just stuff.
So the twins birthday is just 2 weeks away. They also start school the same week. I can only imagine all of the new stuff that will work its way into our house that week. If anyone is short on "stuff", I'd be happy to pass it along. Otherwise I'll just keep plugging away here.....
Here is a picture of the toyroom taken recently. That thing can go from clean to destroyed in 60 seconds flat. The toyroom is adjacent to my home office. There is a bathroom and family room off of this room as well. So when I need to work at home for a bit, the girls are perfectly content to play away. I am trying to work at being more diligent at having them help pick stuff up. And they do good work and know where STUFF goes when it's time to get down to business. But usually it ends up an unbalanced work load and one of the girls picks up more while the other 2 wander off and get distracted by a book or a game.
And I sit here in the office blogging while the girls are in the room playing right now. However I look around this office and Bill's "amazing" filing system of piles of papers and samples thrown all over the floor and it's no wonder they feel it's acceptable to leave stuff lying around. I used to be a "save-every-scrap-of-paper-that -meant-anything or save-every-gift-ever-given" person. Not any more. Purge, discard, donate....whatever it takes to get this place manageable. I have probably spent hundreds of dollars in the past year buying more shelves, storage bins & units just to house this stuff. Bill said I'd have saved a lot of money if we just had less stuff. Yup!
I am encouraging the girls to start making decisions of their own on things it's time to pass down. They love to give things to their cousin "Baby Kate" or a friend's daughter "Baby Jasmyn." Every time I get rid of something as long as I tell them it went to one of those two, they are really fine with that!! So today I have plans to toss out that Hungry Hippos game that is missing like 1/2 of the white marbles and that puzzle that was given to us that is missing a piece right from the center. Seriously, they've got enough other stuff, what's a few games?
I recently repinned an item on Pintrest (seriously addicted to Pintrest) about having your kids collect unused/needed toys, books, games & clothes around the holiday and on Christmas Eve they should be placed in a large bag and left under the tree for Santa to collect and pass onto other kids that aren't as fortunate as we are. What a great idea! I wonder if I could come up with a holiday every month that required someone to stop by and pick up bags of unused items? In addition to getting rid of some of this stuff, I hope its a good tool to help the girls learn to think of others and to begin to ascertain the difference of what is really meaningful to them and what is just stuff.
So the twins birthday is just 2 weeks away. They also start school the same week. I can only imagine all of the new stuff that will work its way into our house that week. If anyone is short on "stuff", I'd be happy to pass it along. Otherwise I'll just keep plugging away here.....
Saturday, August 18, 2012
So my kids DO listen to me
It feels like I talk to a brick wall some days. Most days. I repeat questions and instructions... well.... repeatedly between my kids and my husband. Does anyone around this joint ever listen to me? Seriously, brick walls....every single one of them! And I wonder if I'll ever get through to any of them.
And then there's the "ah ha" moment, when you know the DO listen to you.
Take for example Teagan's new found phrase....."damnit". Oh boy. We never worried about the twins spewing foul language, they just never did it. Here with Teagan lately she is a little sponge... and then a repeat performer. A few months ago a dinner she dropped her fork (or spoon or cup or whatever) and just blurts out "damnit it". Oh crap, here we go. A few minor finger points....as I constant remind Daddy to watch his mouth...but then he insists the kids are around me much more throughout the day so it must have come from me. Whatever. We didn't make a big deal, hoping it was just an isolated incident. Fast forward a few weeks in the midst of our potty training with Teagan. All was going very well, picked up on it so fast. Still trying to get the hang of "#2" one day I was sitting at the kitchen island typing and email and I could smell her standing behind me.
Me: "Oh no, TT, you are supposed to tell mommy when you have to potty."
Teagan: "Mommy, I have to potty."
Me: "Well, that's obvious. Let's go get you cleaned up."
And while in the bathroom taking care of "business" I say "TT, you need to go potty like a big girl so we don't have accidents in your big girl undies."
Teagan, looking at the mess, "oh, damnit".
Oh, so THIS is when she listens.
But there are the times you know the kids listen to what you say in a good way. I love the way Maya will tell the girls "Oh, that's a great job sweetie", because that is something I say to them a lot. Or Riley likes to say "That's a great job Mommy, you worked so hard on that." "Oh be careful Mommy, I hold your hand" is Teagan's copycat phrase to what I say. This morning the twins woke at 6:37 am (ugh) and crawled in bed with me. Their imaginations are going crazy these days and they are always in role-play mode. I was half in-and-out of sleep and I hear them talking about exercise. "Why do you exercise" Riley asks Maya. Maya responds "oh, I want to be healthy and strong for my family and set a good example for you girls." This is a proud moment because I know somewhere along the way I have said this to them and she's remembered.
I realize what we say (and do) affects everything in our children's lives. I am glad they repeat phrases (most of the time) of the positive things I say to them or around them. I am glad my response to the exercise question was about the lasting effects of exercise and not "I am excited to finally lose the last of the baby weight from 4 years ago and want to fit into my skinny jeans this fall." I want their view of exercise to be positive, not to keep up with societies demands that they should be thin or fit into skinny jeans. I want them to realize when they work hard on a coloring or craft project that their efforts are recognized. I want them to know its a good thing to praise a job well done. And that I don't just yell "be careful" because I don't want to clean up blood, but because I am honestly showing concern for their safety.
My kids do listen and I know this. I also know they are kids and that often times when I tell them something or ask them something that they are engrossed in something far more important, just like I am at times. I hope they listen more often to the good things I say, and forget about the times those "doozies" come flying out of my mouth.
And then there's the "ah ha" moment, when you know the DO listen to you.
Take for example Teagan's new found phrase....."damnit". Oh boy. We never worried about the twins spewing foul language, they just never did it. Here with Teagan lately she is a little sponge... and then a repeat performer. A few months ago a dinner she dropped her fork (or spoon or cup or whatever) and just blurts out "damnit it". Oh crap, here we go. A few minor finger points....as I constant remind Daddy to watch his mouth...but then he insists the kids are around me much more throughout the day so it must have come from me. Whatever. We didn't make a big deal, hoping it was just an isolated incident. Fast forward a few weeks in the midst of our potty training with Teagan. All was going very well, picked up on it so fast. Still trying to get the hang of "#2" one day I was sitting at the kitchen island typing and email and I could smell her standing behind me.
Me: "Oh no, TT, you are supposed to tell mommy when you have to potty."
Teagan: "Mommy, I have to potty."
Me: "Well, that's obvious. Let's go get you cleaned up."
And while in the bathroom taking care of "business" I say "TT, you need to go potty like a big girl so we don't have accidents in your big girl undies."
Teagan, looking at the mess, "oh, damnit".
Oh, so THIS is when she listens.
But there are the times you know the kids listen to what you say in a good way. I love the way Maya will tell the girls "Oh, that's a great job sweetie", because that is something I say to them a lot. Or Riley likes to say "That's a great job Mommy, you worked so hard on that." "Oh be careful Mommy, I hold your hand" is Teagan's copycat phrase to what I say. This morning the twins woke at 6:37 am (ugh) and crawled in bed with me. Their imaginations are going crazy these days and they are always in role-play mode. I was half in-and-out of sleep and I hear them talking about exercise. "Why do you exercise" Riley asks Maya. Maya responds "oh, I want to be healthy and strong for my family and set a good example for you girls." This is a proud moment because I know somewhere along the way I have said this to them and she's remembered.
I realize what we say (and do) affects everything in our children's lives. I am glad they repeat phrases (most of the time) of the positive things I say to them or around them. I am glad my response to the exercise question was about the lasting effects of exercise and not "I am excited to finally lose the last of the baby weight from 4 years ago and want to fit into my skinny jeans this fall." I want their view of exercise to be positive, not to keep up with societies demands that they should be thin or fit into skinny jeans. I want them to realize when they work hard on a coloring or craft project that their efforts are recognized. I want them to know its a good thing to praise a job well done. And that I don't just yell "be careful" because I don't want to clean up blood, but because I am honestly showing concern for their safety.
My kids do listen and I know this. I also know they are kids and that often times when I tell them something or ask them something that they are engrossed in something far more important, just like I am at times. I hope they listen more often to the good things I say, and forget about the times those "doozies" come flying out of my mouth.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Confessions of a Bad Blogger
Hello, my name is Emily and I am bad blogger busy mom. With 4 kids, 3 houses, 1 needy husband, a full-time SAHM job and 2 part time jobs....it's no wonder I only seem to have time to blog every 5 weeks or so. Let's just say I'll probably never make a living at it, no matter how much I enjoy every minute of it. I am a great list maker, practically can't go a day without checking something off my to-do list. Maybe I just need to literally add blogging to the list, and then it'll get done.
I wake early every morning and mentally go through my daily check list, usually while in the shower because it's literally the only free 10 minutes I have to myself every day. There are days like today when I am totally "on" (in spite of skipping my 5 am work out) and before 8am I had 2 loads of laundry going, 5 of the beds stripped and 2 remade, kids fed (although still in their jammies). So today I have to go to the post office and pharmacy (2 of the girls favorite places since they get stickers at one and suckers at the other) so at least they are happy to come along. Then it's more laundry, remake the remaining beds, lunch, naptime which means I can concentrate on online bank transfers and bill payments, emails to the corporate office for Bill, some filing, that 5 am workout that I missed needs to be rescheduled. The girls want to bake cookies and there is dinner to plan. Somewhere in there I should spend time with my kids. I started some craft projects towards our church's annual fall festival and I am really excited about them so I'd like to spend a little time working on those today. So, blogging can wait. Bad Blogger!!!! (And not to mention the fact that I am almost a year and a half behind on scrapbooking.......BAD SCRAPPER!!!!!!!).
No, just a busy mom.
I love having blogging to turn to when I need to clear my head, air my thoughts or brag about my kids. I love having other bloggers to read and see their perspective. It's funny (coincidental maybe) that often times I blog in my head a really great thought I have while going about my day (and of course never have 10 minutes to sit down and type it out), and on more than on occasion an old high-school friend Jessica who writes an amazing blog will post something that I have totally been thinking. It's like she can read my thoughts. She's also a busy SAHM and sounds like our days could easily be traded. Her recent posts about raising kids and scrapbooking have really hit home with me.
So I vow to be a better blogger. For myself. For my sanity. For my husband who encourages me and for my kids who will someday be busy women themselves and perhaps find a little humor and maybe a little help in knowing what it's like to doit all enough to get by.
My to-do list might not all get done today. Probably those "luxury" items like crafting, scrapping or maybe a few chapters in a book I just started. But, at least blogging is getting crossed of my list today. Better blogger.
I wake early every morning and mentally go through my daily check list, usually while in the shower because it's literally the only free 10 minutes I have to myself every day. There are days like today when I am totally "on" (in spite of skipping my 5 am work out) and before 8am I had 2 loads of laundry going, 5 of the beds stripped and 2 remade, kids fed (although still in their jammies). So today I have to go to the post office and pharmacy (2 of the girls favorite places since they get stickers at one and suckers at the other) so at least they are happy to come along. Then it's more laundry, remake the remaining beds, lunch, naptime which means I can concentrate on online bank transfers and bill payments, emails to the corporate office for Bill, some filing, that 5 am workout that I missed needs to be rescheduled. The girls want to bake cookies and there is dinner to plan. Somewhere in there I should spend time with my kids. I started some craft projects towards our church's annual fall festival and I am really excited about them so I'd like to spend a little time working on those today. So, blogging can wait. Bad Blogger!!!! (And not to mention the fact that I am almost a year and a half behind on scrapbooking.......BAD SCRAPPER!!!!!!!).
No, just a busy mom.
I love having blogging to turn to when I need to clear my head, air my thoughts or brag about my kids. I love having other bloggers to read and see their perspective. It's funny (coincidental maybe) that often times I blog in my head a really great thought I have while going about my day (and of course never have 10 minutes to sit down and type it out), and on more than on occasion an old high-school friend Jessica who writes an amazing blog will post something that I have totally been thinking. It's like she can read my thoughts. She's also a busy SAHM and sounds like our days could easily be traded. Her recent posts about raising kids and scrapbooking have really hit home with me.
So I vow to be a better blogger. For myself. For my sanity. For my husband who encourages me and for my kids who will someday be busy women themselves and perhaps find a little humor and maybe a little help in knowing what it's like to do
My to-do list might not all get done today. Probably those "luxury" items like crafting, scrapping or maybe a few chapters in a book I just started. But, at least blogging is getting crossed of my list today. Better blogger.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Test Drive
Today, I took the girls to Canton and we went for a test drive. Time to get some new wheels.....for them!
The twins have outgrown their tricycles and honestly haven't shown much interest in them all summer. Gotta practice that bike riding, so I decided we'd go shopping for big girl bikes as an early birthday present so they could have several months of use before it gets too cold.
Growing up in the country, riding bikes was the ONLY way to get places when you were a kid. Before we were able to ride solo on the country roads, we had to learn to ride bikes in our gravel driveway. We'd ride up and down, throwing stones, turning around near the silo by the barn. Once we got brave enough we'd ride down to the road....and occasionally if no one caught us, we'd ride about 40 yards down the road and turn around in the barn driveway near the hayshed and high-tail-it back to the yard before we got busted. There were the dare-devil days when we'd use bailer twine to tie our red Radio Flyer wagon onto the back of our pink banana-seat Huffy bike and try to convince each other that riding in the wagon was safe.....not too often did we have takers for back there. We practiced our hand signals (yup, in the driveway) so those riders behind us knew when we were turning right or left. That was about as much safety as you had to worry about, no use for bike helmets or knee pads & wrist guards back then. When we had convinced our parents we were old enough to be trusted along, we were set free to cruise the block. Riding around the block for us meant about a mile trek and often times we'd cut through the tractor path in the fields when the ride was too long. There were only 5 houses on our block, and 3 of them were family, so you'd have to stop over at Aunt Beth's house or at Grandma's house and check in. (It's obvious now that as soon as we left the driveway a call was made to the respective houses to be on the lookout for wild kids running the streets of the neighborhood). When I got my first job at the general store of the campground around the corner from our house (I was probably 13 or so), I'd have to depend on my own 2 legs and 2 wheels to get me there and back.
It's crazy to now think of my girls learning to ride their bikes. Of course safety is obviously a bit more of a concern these days, because we were NOT allowed to leave Toys R Us until all 3 had bike helmets! For those of you that have been to our house, you know that learning to ride in our driveway will bea little difficult. Once they master the small flat area we have, we'll have to graduate to loading everyone up in the truck and driving to the walking trail or the paved beach parking lot. (Although I am willing to bet money that one of them will come up with the bright idea to tie the wagon on the back of a bike and try and convince the others to give it a go).
The twins have outgrown their tricycles and honestly haven't shown much interest in them all summer. Gotta practice that bike riding, so I decided we'd go shopping for big girl bikes as an early birthday present so they could have several months of use before it gets too cold.
Growing up in the country, riding bikes was the ONLY way to get places when you were a kid. Before we were able to ride solo on the country roads, we had to learn to ride bikes in our gravel driveway. We'd ride up and down, throwing stones, turning around near the silo by the barn. Once we got brave enough we'd ride down to the road....and occasionally if no one caught us, we'd ride about 40 yards down the road and turn around in the barn driveway near the hayshed and high-tail-it back to the yard before we got busted. There were the dare-devil days when we'd use bailer twine to tie our red Radio Flyer wagon onto the back of our pink banana-seat Huffy bike and try to convince each other that riding in the wagon was safe.....not too often did we have takers for back there. We practiced our hand signals (yup, in the driveway) so those riders behind us knew when we were turning right or left. That was about as much safety as you had to worry about, no use for bike helmets or knee pads & wrist guards back then. When we had convinced our parents we were old enough to be trusted along, we were set free to cruise the block. Riding around the block for us meant about a mile trek and often times we'd cut through the tractor path in the fields when the ride was too long. There were only 5 houses on our block, and 3 of them were family, so you'd have to stop over at Aunt Beth's house or at Grandma's house and check in. (It's obvious now that as soon as we left the driveway a call was made to the respective houses to be on the lookout for wild kids running the streets of the neighborhood). When I got my first job at the general store of the campground around the corner from our house (I was probably 13 or so), I'd have to depend on my own 2 legs and 2 wheels to get me there and back.
It's crazy to now think of my girls learning to ride their bikes. Of course safety is obviously a bit more of a concern these days, because we were NOT allowed to leave Toys R Us until all 3 had bike helmets! For those of you that have been to our house, you know that learning to ride in our driveway will be
Ready to roll
Riley on her new Strawberry Shortcake bike
Maya with her new Barbie bike
Teagan is perfectly content with her hand-me-down Radio Flyer trike!!!
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Famous Last Words
We've all done it....said things that within minutes of leaving our mouths, have opened us up for impending.....doom(?).
"I am looking forward to setting aside money this year....": time to replace an appliance or get a new car!
"I can't wait to sleep in tomorrow...." kids are awake at 6:35 and want breakfast!
"I am excited about getting away this weekend......" and someone gets sick!
So, on the heals of having family stay with us for over 3 weeks (thus the reason for my hiatus from blogging), I was just looking forward to having a nice quiet week.
Famous. Last. Words.
Tuesday evening Maya took some sort of spill, tripped up the stairs we think, and landed on a toy. The only witness was Riley and neither seem to be very reliable sources at times. Immediate screams....I meet her at the top of the stairs (with her still standing at the bottom) to see blood soaking the side of her face..... So, we met Daddy at the front door with a blood-covered kid. (Welcome home Dear, how was your day?). Bleeding stopped, child calmed. But we knew a trip to the ER was necessary as the cut was just above her eyebrow. Living in the "country" means the nearest ER is roughly 25 minutes, and not really sure we could trust that Urgent Care 15 min away would be open (yup, we are THAT country.....), I packed her up and headed to the hospital.
She was a trooper....during the entire 2 1/2 hr wait (I swear we hit ER rush hour). She loved people watching and talking to nurses and the security guard. She was very excited to see her blood and know what was going happen....and as soon as we got her into a bed (1 hr and 45 min later)....she was super-pumped that she had her very own TV and was asking to spend the night. (Sorry kid, not the Hilton). Three sutures later, off we went....to grab fries and a milkshake for our patient (yes, I am that parent who at 10 pm fills their kid with salt and sugar!).
So, this blog really isn't the creative outlet I was probably hoping to have after month off, but hey, this is a day in our lives. All I have to say is that I am hoping for a super-busy, ultra crazy, insane, intense next couple of months. Let's hope those are "famous last words"......
"I am looking forward to setting aside money this year....": time to replace an appliance or get a new car!
"I can't wait to sleep in tomorrow...." kids are awake at 6:35 and want breakfast!
"I am excited about getting away this weekend......" and someone gets sick!
So, on the heals of having family stay with us for over 3 weeks (thus the reason for my hiatus from blogging), I was just looking forward to having a nice quiet week.
Famous. Last. Words.
Tuesday evening Maya took some sort of spill, tripped up the stairs we think, and landed on a toy. The only witness was Riley and neither seem to be very reliable sources at times. Immediate screams....I meet her at the top of the stairs (with her still standing at the bottom) to see blood soaking the side of her face..... So, we met Daddy at the front door with a blood-covered kid. (Welcome home Dear, how was your day?). Bleeding stopped, child calmed. But we knew a trip to the ER was necessary as the cut was just above her eyebrow. Living in the "country" means the nearest ER is roughly 25 minutes, and not really sure we could trust that Urgent Care 15 min away would be open (yup, we are THAT country.....), I packed her up and headed to the hospital.
She was a trooper....during the entire 2 1/2 hr wait (I swear we hit ER rush hour). She loved people watching and talking to nurses and the security guard. She was very excited to see her blood and know what was going happen....and as soon as we got her into a bed (1 hr and 45 min later)....she was super-pumped that she had her very own TV and was asking to spend the night. (Sorry kid, not the Hilton). Three sutures later, off we went....to grab fries and a milkshake for our patient (yes, I am that parent who at 10 pm fills their kid with salt and sugar!).
Mommy's make-shift head dressing (held on with scotch tape)
Loving the accommodations
Head wound
Waiting for the numbing cream to work
All fixed up
So we are 2 days post-injury. She's her old, chipper self. Hardly seems to slow her down at all, although I keep waiting for the girls to bust it open when they wrestle.
So, this blog really isn't the creative outlet I was probably hoping to have after month off, but hey, this is a day in our lives. All I have to say is that I am hoping for a super-busy, ultra crazy, insane, intense next couple of months. Let's hope those are "famous last words"......
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