Busy Life

I love my life.  I will start with that.

I have 3 awesome kids who make me proud to be a mom. They learn new things daily and amaze me at the amount of love I see in them.

I love my job.  I love teaching preschool - nothing makes me prouder than seeing 4 year olds "get it".  When things click in their brain - when they get the lightbulb turned out.  I love it.  I'm shocked to be saying this - but I love it more than teaching middle/high school kids.  It's exactly where I need to be.

I love our church.  I love the family we have there.  Our small group - I cannot tell you the difference this has made in our lives.  Tuesday nights make me happy because I know I'm going to spend time with a wonderful group of people (and our kids will too!).  I love serving in our worship ministry.  I love being a part of that amazing group of talented people.

I love bags.  Y'all knew that already.  :)

And most importantly I love my husband.  He is such an important part to making things work.  He is a piece of our crazy life puzzle that just doesn't work well without him!

Now - having said all that, I have to find some time in my days for me.  Not sure what part of the above needs to suffer, because it would be hard to choose from any of those to pull back on, but it needs to happen!

I have found a 5K I would like to do on December 7th.  It is September 7.  It is exactly 12 weeks away.  I am literally sitting on the couch right now.  So this will be a couch to 5K scenario.  I can do this.  I will do this.

So, if you see me out and about and have read this I hold YOU accountable for asking me how its going.  I am going to fill out the paperwork and send in my check this week to do this race.  I am committing financially.  Now I just need to commit my time and focus to this.

Here's to new and healthier beginnings.

MJ#1 Birth Story

I had a friend ask if I had birth story's for my kids....had never thought about it! I started with the most dynamic birth, MJ #1.  It's definitely an entertaining story.  I'm glad I got this down for when she gets older I can have her understand the misery she put me through! Haha :)

MJ #1’s birth story

March 8, 2010

I had been having some increasing contractions, but they were still very irregular.  I started to chart them to make sure I wasn’t missing anything.  With Jackson my water had broke so I knew that labor was starting.  I went to work that day and sat down most of the day in front of the overhead projector.  Nothing was out of the ordinary so I just kept writing them down and keeping track.

March 9, 2010

I went to school just like normal.  I was continuing to track my contractions throughout the day.  They weren’t terribly strong, but they were there.  Still irregular, with the shortest between them around 7 minutes.  I packed up my bags and remember looking at the clock as I was leaving – it was 3:32pm.  On my ride home I called the nurse on-call and asked when I should head to the hospital (my original due date was March 14^th).  She again told me what I knew, that they needed to be 5 minutes or less apart before I went.  Our home was 30 minutes from the hospital where I was to deliver, so I wanted to make sure I gave myself plenty of time.  I told her they were inconsistent and all over the place, so she said just wait until they get consistent and then head that way. 

I arrived at my house and went inside to see JJ and my mom (JJ was 3 at the time).  I had some presents from friends/family that had arrived that day in the mail.  As I opened the presents, my contractions started to intensify.  I started to write them down again – and at this point I decided that my husband (who worked about 15 minutes away at the local university) should start to make his way home.  By the time he would arrive we should be ready to start heading to Dover to the hospital.  Only problem was my mom had our car, so she had to go pick him up.  She loaded JJ up and started heading that way.

Once my mom left things really picked up steam.  I went and laid down on our bed to hopefully relax.  The contractions intensified more.  I started to feel light headed, so I got up and got a drink that had some sugar in it.  This is when I felt the urge to go to the bathroom.  I walked into the bathroom, sat on the toilet and had a BM.  The contractions were really strong at this point. My husband called to check on me – which I could barely talk.  He tried to get anything out of me – and I really could not say anything.  At this point, still on the toilet I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom again.  After about 10 seconds I realized, this was not a ‘go to the bathroom’ feeling.  This was a ‘need to push this baby out’ feeling.

I was still home alone – and at this point terrified.  Brandon was trying to still talk to me on the phone as he was making his way back from work.  I still was pretty much a mute because I was in so much pain, and also holding the baby in. He made the decision to get off the phone with me and call an ambulance.  He called me right now to let me know they were on the way.  Only problem was there was no way I was getting up to walk to our door to unlock it.  I was laying on my bed, two cats curling up next to me, just scared to death I was going to be alone in our apartment having our second child.  Brandon stayed on the phone with me the whole time just talking me through it.  It took about 10 or so more minutes before he finally made it to our house – still beating the paramedics.  When he got there he instantly went and found towels, scissors, and started to get water going to boil on the stove.  Yea – TERRIFIED.  Haha.

The paramedics got there, examined me and told me I was nowhere near having a baby.  I about ripped the guys head off.  My contractions were varying from 1 minute apart to as short as 20 seconds apart at this point.  Never regular.  They put me on the gurney and wheeled me to the ambulance.  Two awesome paramedics stayed in the back with me and talked to me the whole time we traveled 8 miles to the closest hospital (not the one I had planned to deliver at).  When they were timing them they were trying to make me laugh – they had just gone through OB training the day before and thought my call was a practice run.  So they knew exactly what to do. 

The ambulance driver blew through lights and got us to the hospital in about 10 minutes (mind you – this was all in the I-95 corridor of Delaware.  HEAVY traffic). 

When they pulled me into the L&D triage, the nurse listened to MJ #1’s heart to make sure all was good.  It had not occurred to me until this point that she could have been stressed.  Glad I didn’t worry until then!  She then checked me – and when she did I screamed.  The nurse’s face was priceless.  She quickly removed her gloves, threw up the sides of my bed and started yelling down the hall to the nurses station.  They were going to have to move fast because MJ #1 was ready to be born – probably on the next contraction.  She got at the head of the bed and Brandon was at my feet.  We pick up a nurse on the way to the elevator, just incase something happened while we were on our way to the delivery room.  We were literally sprinting as fast as you can with a hospital bed down the hallway.  We got in the elevator, made it out to the delivery floor and right when they pushed me into my delivery room a contraction was coming.  I was in the hospital and I was not waiting anymore!  I warned them, to which all the nurses started telling me to hold on because nothing was ready – they were still getting gloves on and there was no doctor there to deliver.  I wasn’t waiting though – the 1^st year resident literally walked in the room right when I started to push and caught MJ #1.  No lie – caught her.  And then the pain was gone.  MJ #1 was born at 5:14pm on March 9^th, 2010 – 39 weeks, 4 days, 6 pounds, 8 ounces, 19 inches long.  Girl had a schedule to keep! She was perfect – but the doctor told me that the next time, if there was one, that I needed to plan my delivery.  I delivered way too fast! There were no pictures in the delivery room - things happened so quickly we had nothing of her first hour.  

JJ and baby sister.  One of the first pictures of MJ #1.

Homemade Advent Calendar

I decided earlier in the fall that I wanted to make my own advent calendar this year.  Since Thanksgiving was on the 22nd this year, I knew I'd have a bit of time after the holiday to create my calendar.

I didn't do anything too complicated.  Here's what I used:

Christmas themed scrapbook paper
Red/green scrapbook paper
25 envelopes
Mini-clothes pin clips (found in the scrapbooking section of your craft store)
Twine
Wood dowel rods
Christmas lights

Obviously there is a lot of room for variation here.  The only thing we bought to complete this project was the dowel rods.  Everything else I had at the house.

The hardest part was coming up with the list of activities for my kids to do.  I wanted to make them really specific for them - stuff they'd enjoy.  Here are the activities they'll be doing everyday, starting with December 1st (which was Saturday):

Dec. 1: Attend the our local Christmas Parade of Lights
Dec. 2: Go see Santa on the KC Southern Train
Dec. 3: Paint Christmas ornaments
Dec. 4: Make grandparents a special Christmas card
Dec. 5: Make the official Santa letter
Dec. 6: Celebrate St. Nicholas day - read the story of St. Nicholas
Dec. 7: Family Game Night
Dec. 8: Go for yogurt after MJ #1's dance recital
Dec. 9: FaceTime grandparents and sing Christmas carols to them
Dec. 10: Make snowflakes out of paper and decorate the dining room with them
Dec. 11: Take your list and go see Santa!
Dec. 12: Write a Christmas card to a friend we won't see
Dec. 13: Build Santa's workshop in the foyer
Dec. 14: Make your teacher a Christmas card
Dec. 15: Family Christmas Movie Night
Dec. 16: Wear your Santa hat - ALL DAY
Dec. 17: Bake and decorate Christmas cookies
Dec. 18: Turn on Christmas music and have a dance party!
Dec. 19: Transform our hallway into the North Pole
Dec. 20: Read the Christmas story in the book of Luke from the Bible
Dec. 21: Drive to find Christmas lights (after they've had a bath in their Pj's!)
Dec. 22: Decorate a gingerbread house
Dec. 23: Watch the Polar Express and have a Movie Night in our Pj's
Dec. 24: Bake cookies for Santa and read Twas the Night Before Christmas
Dec. 25: Christmas!

Here's a picture of what our calendar looks like :)

Here's an up close of the envelopes

Here's how I clipped them to the 'tree'

The final product.  The kids have been super excited about it so far this season!  Yea me! :)

Clutter

Clutter.  What do you think when you here the word? 

I think the A&E show Hoarders.  You know, the mounds and mounds of things that people have.  Always with a logical reasoning in their head on why they have it.  Sure, that paper back from 1966 is important, but the whole years' subscription?  Is it really necessary?

Anyways, I feel like I'm dealing with clutter these days.  And I'm about to get deep here - not just the physical means of clutter, like stuff, but clutter in my life.  Things are cluttering up my daily life existence.  I feel consumed at times by just the overwhelming amount of things I need to accomplish before I go to bed.  I'm trying to evaluate everything and determine does it really have a place in what I'm here to do, or is it irrelevant and can be tossed?  Its like you're going through your Christmas decorations - do you really love that Christmas tree sweater you got as a gift 15 years ago? No.

So, looking at everything I just can't seem to figure out what I need to drop.  Work is work.  Yes, before work my life was a lot less hectic, but we need the check and its good for MJ to get go play with the kids so I think overall its worth it. 

Is selling my bags worth it?  It's something I seriously consider.  The only thing really keeping me in it is I think I'd probably buy the same amount even if I didn't sell it, so its better that I sell it so I can at least make the commission back.  But I think I'm going to need to cut back after the holidays.  Its just a multiplier to my craziness.

Well, there's one thing I can cut back.  Children - that's something I can't avoid or cut back, but brings a LOT of clutter.  Goodness - I'm constantly cleaning up, washing clothes, cooking meals for those two.  But every second of that is 100% worth it.

Church - playing piano at church seems to me the best mental break for me.  As long as I don't get frustrated.  Using that side of my brain is beyond needed and even though it does consume some time I add that time back to my mental health column. 

Hmm.....so I still have all this clutter.  I. Don't. Know. What. To. Do.

To add to the complication of all of this I agreed (and want) to run a 1/2 marathon with Brandon's cousin Tamara in April. I have exactly 186 days until the race.  Umm...I think I can probably run 1 mile right now uninterrupted in about 12 minutes.  Think training needs to start sometime.  And I know when I add this that it will also add to the mental health column, but where do I add this?

And I miss blogging.  I was on a roll this summer!  And I loved having that ability to sit down and type in recipes or other funny things that our family experiences. The last month has proven no time for that.

My goal in the next week is to write down what I spend all my time doing.  The other thing I'm considering is trying to drop all the social networking stuff.  I feel like I spend time doing that when I should be doing other things.  I'm lazy I guess.  But all media seems to make me like a deer in headlights.  I just can't look away. 

Coffee has become a must at 3pm.  This I know is not normal.  I'm hoping I can figure out in the next week where my time is going and how I can make the best of every second I'm awake without driving myself nuts. 

On that note, I'm going to go make another cup of coffee so I can get ready to cook dinner.  Hope someone else knows how this feels because I cannot imagine I'm the only one here!

Home is Where the Heart is?

Not cooking is so strange to my lifestyle.  I have to think about what to blog about.  So while I was driving today to College Station to visit with an old friend, I started to think.

Looking at the Central Texas landscape reminded me how beautiful Texas really is.  We come and go on trips, not really slowing down all that much to take notice.  So today while I was driving I noticed.  And it sort of made me sentimental for my birth state.

The Little River in Cameron, Texas

Now, we left Texas in 2004. I cannot believe its been that long ago, but Brandon started his PhD at UD in 2004.  That was the last time we were 'offically' current Texas residents.  But we still say everytime we come back that we're coming 'home'.  But what does that mean?

Home to me means family, friends, familiar things (i.e. food, culture), and comfort.  So if I look at Texas is that still 'home' to me?  This is a toughy.  I had this conversation with my friend Jess today at lunch.  When she was going through some personal issues, her mom told her to drop everything in Texas and move to be with her in Connecticut.  Now, her mom hadn't lived near her in 4 years and Jess had been doing fine herself where she was - she had developed her support system around her.  Texas was home.  She felt comfort there and knew that even if her immediate family was not, her friends (that were pretty much her family) were.  She made the decision to stay - and from talking to her I'm pretty sure she's glad she made that decision.

So while I was driving today looking at the dry-brittle landscape I thought, do I still think this is home?  But honestly the only thing I could think about was my friends in Delaware, who were my family for 6 years, who saw the start of my family and the birth of JJ and MJ, who had us over for holiday meals, who supported us whenever we needed it.  I miss them - and I think that's where my heart truely still is. 

JJ & I picking pumpkins in Townsend, Delaware, September 2009

At the same time I see the transition moving to Mississippi.  I see friendships forming, new bonds being established with some wonderful people.  I see our family starting to take to a routine and adjust to the interesting lifestyle that MS has to offer.  And its honestly not as bad I thought it was going to be.  Now, if you asked me this in January I would have never been close to this.  But we are progressing in the right direction and I'm happy things are looking up.

Is Texas awesome? Yes.  Would I move back here?  In a heartbeat.  I am thankful though for the experiences we have had, in Delaware and so far in Mississippi.  We don't know what the future has to offer, but I have realized that even though you live somewhere it doesn't mean your heart is there.  And sometimes your heart never leaves places even though you move on.  Its about the relationships you create and how you spend your time each place you go.  Make the most of each opportunity and don't look back.

Saddness

Warning: heavy subject matter to follow.

Tonight, while in Texas, I received word that my dear friend Elizabeth's mom had passed away suddenly. She became ill earlier this week and was thought to have been doing better but took a quick turn for the worse. I'm not sure all the details, but the initial reaction I had was heartbreak and saddness for my friend who is 1,695 miles away from me. What do you say? How can you help someone who is broken hearted?

Elizabeth is an amazing artist. She would always entertain our table at faculty meetings with elaborate drawings that just didn't seem humanly possible to make. And she was sitting there making them without even thinking. So I thought from her perspective - what she knows is art. What she loves is art. What would probably begin the healing process for her the best, is art.

Now I don't know art. The extent of my art knowledge is watching Little Einsteins and finding out who their artist of the episode is. But I know music. So here are some I think would help me heal. My top 5:

*When We All Get to Heaven (Sung by Brad Paisley)
Onward to the prize before us!
Soon his beauty we'll behold;
Soon the pearly gates will open;
We shall tread the streets of gold.

*In Christ Alone (Sung by Natalie Grant)
No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From a life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man
Could ever pluck me from His hand
Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand

*All My Tears (Sung by Kim Hill)
When I go, don't cry for me
In my Father's arms I'll be
The wounds this world left on my soul
Will all be healed and I'll be whole.
Sun and moon will be replaced
With the light of Jesus' face
And I will not be ashamed
For my Savior knows my name.

It don't matter where you bury me,
I'll be home and I'll be free.
It don't matter where I lay,
All my tears be washed away.

*There Will Be a Day (Sung by Jeremy Camp)
There will be a day with no more tears
No more pain, and no more fears
There will be a day when the burdens of this place
Will be no more, we'll see Jesus face to face
But until that day, we'll hold on to you always

*Amazing Grace
T'was Grace that taught...
my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear...
the hour I first believed

It's interesting to think what each of us looks to for comfort. Whether it songs, art, friends, or family, we all crave something we don't understand at that moment of broken heartedness.

I'm thankful I have a strong support system of friends and family that I know would be there for me if needed. I love my friend Elizabeth and hate that I'm 1,695 miles away from her and can't physically be there for her. But I will mentally and emotionally be there, praying for her and her family as they go through this tough time.

Hug your friends and family extra tight, not missing any moment or opportunity to tell them you love them and are thankful for them. Time is short. At least we know there is a place of no more tears and pain. I'm thankful just knowing that.

Traveling. With Children.

This is nothing new for our family.  Since JJ was born we have been traveling to visit the rest of our family who has been in another state.  We use to fly.  Now we are driving.

We have made 2 trips to Texas since we moved to Mississippi last November.  The first one was fairly successful.  We do not have a big vehicle, so we were really packed down.  Both kids traveled well.  MJ was still in her infant car seat, so slept quite a bit.

We traveled Easter weekend to Texas as well.  MJ was turned around.  We made it 30 minutes down the road and Brandon had to separate their car seats.  Like physically move MJ's carseat away from JJ.  Yep.  It was a mess.  At least we stopped at a Starbucks. Neither of them slept at all for the entire 7 hour trip.  We were all exhausted that night.  And irritable.

Easter trip - before the split.

Now we are preparing for our third trip.  And it is taking a lot of mental preparation on my part.  Because right now all I'm doing is procrastinating.  Being gone for a weekend is one thing.  Being gone for about 15 days is another.  We are leaving this Friday and will return probably on Sunday the 17th.  Brandon will be in MS working most of the time, so its just me and the kids.  Did I really think through this?

Yes, I know we are going to visit grandparents.  That is the only saving grace of this whole trip.  At least I have some help.  But, unfortunately, it won't solve the problem of having cranky, short-on-sleep children.  That's just the nature of a vacation.

JJ is super excited about going to Texas.  He starts 'Horse Camp' next Tuesday at my mom & dad's.  It will be 4 days of kids his age learning everything there needs to know about riding and taking care of a horse.  He will have a blast.  I'm not sure if its good or bad that he has what little experience he has from riding my mom's horse because HE thinks HE is an expert and that he will be teaching the camp.  Oh brother.

MJ will just probably be held.  Non-stop.  Which is probably the hardest thing to undo with her.  She loves the attention and if someone is willing, she will be in someone's arms.  Until she's tired, and cranky then she'll likely want me to hold her so she can beat me up.  Yea! :)

So I guess I will stop writing for the rest of this afternoon while MJ is napping and JJ is watching Looney Tunes.  I have cleaning that needs to be started.  Its not doing it on its own.  If you think about it, say a prayer for me in the next few days.  I have a feeling I'm going to need a lot.

Return trip.  She was tired.

Blogging

This is my 82nd post.  Yes - 82nd post.  I started this thing on April 18th.  So, in basically 10 weeks I have had a LOT to say.  To me this is crazy.

I'm not an outspoken person.  I think I'm almost opposite at times.  I have opinions, but tend to just be mellow and go with the flow of most situations, as long as they are not illegal. :)

I think, does this blog mean I'm harboring all these feelings and not getting them out?  Or am I just using this blog as an outlet to tell people about things I like and dislike without being interrupted?

I like feedback.  I actually really like criticism that makes me better.  As long as that criticism comes with something positive I'm doing.

That's off topic - anyways....Its hard for me to comprehend that I have that much to say.  But I think I have a lot of good ideas and recipes and I just haven't really gotten to share them with everyone like I have wanted to.  And this blog has let me do it.

I have a few friends that have decided they were going to start to blog.  Which I think is awesome.  I hope their blogs get up and running and they do for them what this blog has done for me. You should definitely check them out: Deann's is Don't Judge Me But (love that title!) and Linda's is Linda is Learning.

So, since its my 82nd post and I haven't really told you much more about me than the 'About Me' page, here are some more interesting facts about me:

• I was born in Houston, Texas
• My parents are from Florida, which is why I don't have much of a 'Texas' accent
• I moved 5 times while I was growing up to 4 different states: Texas, Louisiana, California, and Illinois
• I had one cat growing up, KC, who lived until he was 17 (and the last 6 years he was living he had feline diabetes)
• I was a choir geek in high school.  I think my junior year I was in the choir room 3 out of 7 periods of day - scheduled (not just skipping to be there!) plus lunch.
• My favorite color is green
• I'm a DIEHARD Astros fan - or should I say DISastros fan.  Oh well.  It will come around again :)
• I love baseball. Period.  Doesn't matter who's playing, I'm all in.
• My great, great uncle was Rogers Hornsby - maybe that's where my baseball enthusiasm comes from?
• I bleed Maroon.
• My favorite vacation spot is the Big Island of Hawaii
• I miss my grandparents. A lot.
• My favorite food is pretty much anything Cajun - I have no idea why.
• Texas has my heart - we'll get back there someday.
• And I couldn't be happier where I'm at now, with a wonderful husband and two perfect, but sometimes quirky children.

That's me in a nutshell.  Hope y'all are enjoying the ride with me.

Time for Me?

As a SAHM there are several things that I encounter.  Are the kids fed? Are they dressed appropriately (and I only say that because JJ is messy and sometimes MJ's clothes are too small!)? What are we having for dinner?  Are the clothes washed?  When was the last time I cleaned the bathrooms?

Yea - lots of questions on a daily basis.  But, do any of them really deal with me?  Sometimes, but often they are not the priority.

I was reminded this while I was blow-drying my hair out this afternoon while MJ was napping and JJ was watching a show.  I sat down at my sink and right there next to it was this:

What is that - I'm sure you're asking.  Well, its my running clothes.  I put those there so when my alarm goes off every morning at 7am they are ready for me.  Problem is, they've been there for weeks, untouched.

This last week I have been really feeling the lack of 'me' time.  And this really isn't anyone's fault, and yes I know that's what its like when you have kids.  But its been bothering me that I cannot get my butt out of bed at 7am to spend 30-45 minutes taking care of myself.  I miss running.  That sounds so pathetic saying.  But I do.  I checked my Runkeeper app on my phone and the last time I went for a run was May 10th.  Yes - you read that right, MAY 10! Over a month ago.  I was on such a good schedule, running 3-4 times a week and feeling good about what I was doing.  And now I can't even manage one day. Again, no one's fault but my own.

I think about how much happier I might be (not saying that I'm not happy now, but that extra energy would really help).  I like the sense of accomplishment with running, a feeling I don't get doing anything else.  I push myself when I run to another level that I can't accomplish cooking or cleaning. 

I think as SAHM's we often feel this way.  That there is something in our lives that we just don't have time for.  As we become engrossed in the everyday activities of living with family/kids we sometimes put ourselves at the bottom of the priority list. 

And its ok to say that's ok. Its not the end of the world and some day soon I might have time for the things that interest me.  My number one priority right now is raising to healthy, God-loving, children that understand how much we are blessed.  Sometimes I feel like God definitely made sure I that I would stay busy, but my kids are wonderful and I am very thankful for those two.  All I have to do is read Proverbs 31: 10-31 for a map of my days and remember I am blessed with a great family.  And to remember, its not all about me.

Friends

So today as I was cleaning getting ready for my House Party, I came across the photos that were on my desk at school in Delaware.

There were several different ones: one with me and JJ when he was about 16 months riding mom's horse, Pete.  There were three professional photos of JJ, ranging from 1yo to 2yo - we were a little crazy and took him quite often to get his pictures done.  Poor MJ.  She is not well represented in our house.

And then there was one other.  One of two Christmas' ago, when I was pregnant with MJ, with 3 of my best friends.

I look at that picture and think of the friends I miss - those that are still in Delaware that I don't get to see everyday.  I miss the fun lunches we had together almost everyday, complaining about the kids (and parents) that we had in class and talking about what we were doing with our families.  I miss the fun get togethers we would have - it just felt like our families just worked together so well.

And now I'm 1000 miles away in Mississippi.  It makes me sad sometimes knowing that I don't get to see them anymore.

I feel like we only meet so many people that we can call good friends in our lives.  It makes you really appreciate the time you have with people now - you never know when you might not have that time anymore.  I hope that even though we are far away from each other that we can continue to talk and call each other good friends.

Linda, Elizabeth, and Maria - Miss and Love yall lots!

Being a Better Mom

I never really thought about this until JJ hit about 3.5-4yo. I always thought - I don't remember a thing from when I was that young, so why would he? Well, he is almost 5. And now I think - Dang, maybe he will remember some of this.

So, it has really got me thinking about our actions, how we deal with difficult circumstances, and just how we treat each kid. I am not saying by any means that we were bad about this before, but it makes you start to almost analyize every step, comment, and decision you make everyday. This, in itself, can be down right exhausting.

I read several blogs. I obtained possession of the family iPad about 3-4 weeks ago and got on the Reeder app and just started finding cool, Christian-based blogs that dealt with homemaking, food, and frugal living. There has been one that has been really thought provoking - sometimes a little eerie. Like she knows what I am dealing with at this moment of time so she talks about it. Weird.

Today, she touches on what type of legacy are you leaving? Again - something I have recently started thinking about, especially with JJ. How is he perceiving me? Am I a good mom to him? How can I make sure that my actions will benefit his future? These are, at times, scary thoughts, but something that seriously needs to be considered when raising children. Again - I have worked in the school system. I have seen kids that have had parents that spend little to no time with them, verbally abuse them, put high expectations on them - I know the effects these things can have. But, am I, even though I might not realize it, doing this to some extent? I think, JJ is 4 - he should be doing (blank). I do this A LOT. And I know you should to some point.

Anyway, a great blog. I will probably read it a few more times. She has a whole series right now on becoming a better mother. I know that I am a great mom, and I try to do all I can for my kids. Love them to pieces and they amaze me everyday. But, I am not perfect.

What do I want my kids to remember?

Is my attitude right?

Am I showing them love?

What is the big picture? Are my actions seeing the future?

If you have time - check out this blog, Delighting in the Days. Or just read this post - it might just inspire you too.

Museum Day

Well, we went to the MS Children's Museum today.  Nice place.  Its summer in Mississippi, so we need to start figuring out which places are going to be frequented when its 100+ degrees outside everyday.  And of course we picked a day that was nice, mid-80s and low humidity.  Oh well.  So good times.  We were there for 4 hours.  Two exhausted kids tonight. Had fun with Anne & Isaac too! :)

Here are some pictures from today.

Why do kids like water so much!?

Artist JJ.

Final product (he did write his name).  This is for you Elizabeth!

MJ liked the food section.  Really, anything she could pick up and carry she was all about.

The tunnels 'under' the rest of the museum.  She was not brave enough last time to crawl through, but was no problem this time!

JJ's favorite part: the crane.  He shared with sister.