Quotable Mondays - Parenting

When my kids become wild and unruly,

I use a nice, safe playpen. 

When they're finished, I climb out. 

~Erma Bombeck

Five Year Old Boys..GRRRRRRRRR

*Today is one of those days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**One child is pushing me slowly into a frenzy and it starts the minute his feet hit the floor in the morning.

***Yes I am quite aware that five year old boys can be chaotic, disrespectful, hyper, and just a plain ole' pain in the butt...BUT...that does not make it any easier to parent him.

****Yes, I do realize I should feel quite blessed he is a healthy growing boy.

*****The above makes me feel even worse when I get upset with him and right now it's alot.

******Thank you for letting me vent........back to the trenches.

Wordless Wednesday - The Rabbit & The Wolf

{insert creepy music here.....}

{puppet show by Daddy & Sasha}

Linking up with 5 Minutes For Mom & Wordless Wednesday.

Que Sera Sera

Do you have a burning desire for a career or the one you are in now?

I do not have that yearning for anything and I am starting to wonder if there is something wrong with me.  Don't get me wrong I do have jobs I would like to do someday but nothing stands out for me.

The only time I ever felt such a desire for something was when we were trying to conceive a child.  It took five years and I really do not want to relive those years or the person I was.  I'm not proud of how I reacted to my years of dealing with infertility and looking back I wish I knew what I know now.

I however cannot go back so I pick out how my character grew out of those difficult years for us and go with it.

I am at a point in my life where I should start making choices of what kind of job I am going to look for when my youngest is in school.  I know what I want for hours but the choice of job narrows quickly when you put a time frame on how much you want to work.

There are two possibilities of  a job choice and one of them needs me to start preparing soon in regards to taking classes for a few years to further my education.  The other avenue requires minimal upgrade in education and would give me the same hours, possibly less but still be an enjoyable job to be in...or so I think.

But in all of this thinking in the back of my mind I still have yet to find that burning desire to "BE SOMETHING".  I truly believe I AM SOMETHING...I am a Mother to four children, a wife to a busy Law Enforcement Officer and it is hard work!

So inside I know I am where I should be and outside I know that the world wants me to be more...yet I want to fight that.

Today we are asked to push ourselves beyond what is possible in the human body.  I refuse to follow suit right now and I am very lucky I don't have to.  I know there will be alot more time in the future with all four in school but I still want to be here or there with them at 3 p.m when that bell rings.

Does that sound wrong?  It used to be the norm in my day.  Yet I know I should contribute to the family income and I have NO problem with that......I just can't seem to find a burning desire for any specific career.

So my choice at the moment is take a job that's flexible and decent pay to help out.  Until I have that direction in career choice maybe I should just be satisfied with the fact that at least I have that choice.  I am blessed I am able to stay home, I am blessed with four crazy wild children that have more energy than a zoo full of monkeys, I am blessed with a supportive husband who works hard for all of us, so what's my problem?

I really dislike fighting the "world" about what is normal. 

And because I am strange this is what is going through my head the whole time writing this post....





**smiles**

Have a GREAT Tuesday!!!

Quotable Mondays - The Mind

I know because I read...Your mind is not a cage.

It's a garden.

And it requires cultivating.

 ― Libba Bray

A Mommy Milestone

My first time making four lunches, yes that means all children were attending school that day.

Enjoy the laugh at me.  I think it's quite a milestone.

Wordless Wednesday - An Attempt @ Family Photos...sigh

(there is not one shot where they are all behaving so I surrender to the reality that is my family...crazy....)

Linking up with 5 Minutes For Mom & Wordless Wednesday.

Quotable Mondays - My friend Chaos

Chaos is the score upon which reality is written.

-Henry Miller

(this should comfort me in some way...)

 

Used & Abused

Can I scream?

I seriously need to scream, have a rant, dance like a monkey...anything to relieve some frustration and stress. 

I need to make some serious adjustments in my home in regards to my children's attitudes. 

First of all I will take 100% full responsibility for their whining and complaining.  I am their parent and somehow we got ourselves into this mess.

On the other hand I realize they are all individuals and each has specifics in their personality.  I need to parent each child in a slightly different way but not waver off too far from what our family knows as a norm otherwise we hear ".....but so and so gets to do that why don't I?"

My five year olds are giving me the biggest headache right now.  They are intense bundles of energy and being twins you get served that energy in double doses.  EXHAUSTING!!!

I have begun to separate them for small portions of time when they are home.  They "think" they need to always be beside each other yet they DRIVE each other up the wall...then a fight starts and let me tell you Mama is not happy about the hitting going on in this house. 

I need to also find a discipline for each of them.  They all have a different currency and that seems to change as they grow.  As of lastnight all of the children were stripped of every luxury they know and were told of harsh discipline if they have the usual fit in any specific situation.  Suck it up buttercup you cannot have a tantrum because I only read you one book!  Yes we are dealing with stuff like that.

My goal like any other parent is to raise well rounded, kind, caring, but yet strong adults.  Not the opposite.   I believe a foundation starts now when they are young.  We will however leave the two year old out of this equation for now.

HE IS A WHOLE OTHER POST!

He is like no other child in this family.  I could go on and on but I do believe he is one of the key ingredients for the chaos I head into every night before bed.  My children know the rules, they know how to follow rules but throw in the two year old that has to push every button and you got a war!!!

So  needed to vent and vent I did.  I do hope I am not the only Mom out there feeling used and abused lately.  I encourage my children to do things on their own but I also know they need me yet for many tasks.  Most days I can handle it but then there was yesterday.  What can I say?  I fell of the "keep it together" boat and I am sinking in the shark infested waters of guilt and conviction.

Wordless Wednesday - Meow!

Linking up with 5 Minutes For Mom & Wordless Wednesday.

Quotable Mondays - Be You

People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea,
at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circularmotion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering...

Now, let us acknowledge the wonder of our physical incarnation— that we are here, in these particular bodies, at this particular time, in these particular circumstances.
May we never take for granted the gift of our individuality.

— Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430)

Time Well Spent

Sometimes I get "too busy" to sit down and do something with my kids

This was time well spent......

ReAliTy #6 - Halloween Decorations?

Wondering if I should just let this one go.....

The pictures do not do this fine crafted web justice. 

 The kids think it should stay till Halloween is over :).

Wordless Wednesday - Annual Pumpkin Patch Picture

A crop of 27 pumpkins this year.  Better than expected!

Linking up with 5 Minutes For Mom and Wordless Wednesday.

Tackle It Tuesday - Comfort Food

Autumn is here...it's windy, the temperature is cooler, the leaves are turning color and to me it is all so BEAUTIFUL!

I love this time of year and it makes me want to cook up some yummy comfort food.  I spent all afternoon in my kitchen preparing meals to eat right away and some meals to freeze.

Started off with Pizza Casserole...it was DELICIOUS and all little people loved it in my household.

The twins wanted to make sugar cookies so we whipped of some while my soup was simmering.

What is a windy, cool, Fall day without a bowl of Chicken Soup? 

Doubled the batch!!

I had leftover potatoes and a bit of ground beef from the pizza casserole so I decided to make indivdual sized Sheperd's Pie.  No one eats this except me in my house so I made two for me and two for my Granny.  Hope it freezes okay.

So it was a busy day yesterday but so appropriate for a Tackle. 

Head on over to 5 Minutes For Mom and be inspired.

Quotable Mondays

Submission is not about authority and it is not obedience;

 it is all about relationships of love and respect.

-William P. Young

You And Me...What That Means

I will be turning 38 in a few short months.  Highschool was twenty years ago yet I feel I'm still there sometimes when in regards to relationships with other people.

I am at the phase in life where things are changing once again.  Remember when you went from working spouse to stay at home spouse because a special delivery arrived?  Those days are slowly coming to an end for me.  My youngest is starting preschool in a few short weeks.   No longer will I have those kids at home to invite playdates {with Mommies along to visit}.  Which to me means less interaction!

I thrive on connecting socially with others.  I enjoy chatting with  Moms, LOVE talking with seniors and enjoy watching kids get to know each other.  I recently had a playdate at a friends house with three of my children and only one of hers {three others were in school}.  It was an awesome playdate.  The kids played together and we enjoyed chatting over coffee and lunch.  I know I felt refreshed in my spirit when I left there and I hope my friend did too.

We all need relationship to keep balanced in our busy lives.  I know as a Mom my first thoughts of the day are never about myself but of my family.   Everything I plan including my spare time revolves around my family's schedule.  If I want to sit and have a cup of coffee or write a post like this I have to wait until my little one's are occupied or in bed sleeping otherwise my brain does not work. 

So my need for personal space and personal relationship are huge in my life.  If I empty myself for others I need to fill it up in some way right? 

I am in a different space than some of my really good mommy friends.  I don't seem to fit in with my friends prekids and I am not yet into meeting Mom's with kids at my children's school.

Okay I take that last sentence back...I am into meeting Mothers of children at our school.  The problem is I feel like people do not want to engage in relationship with others {or me}.  Afterall it is time consuming to have a relationship with another person and in our society today who has that time?

I am willing to make that time.  I enjoy listening to my friends issues, troubles and joys in life.  I think of many friends constantly.  I may not speak with them all the time but I know they are thinking of my family and myself on a daily basis. 

So why are people scared to engage? 

I was feeling really down lastnight because I did not attend an event with my husband.  We did have a babysitter issue but in truth I am very much over the "drinking/dancing" stage in my life.  Don't get me wrong I enjoy adult conversation and alcoholic drinks just not in the setting where this event was. 

The self esteem was lagging because I want to stay true to who I am but I mourn relationships which were once strong because I no longer see some social activities as fun or fulfilling.  I wish I could put this in more descriptive words!  Let's just say one minute I feel great that I know who I am and other times I feel like I am taking a totally different direction than many people I care about.

Make sense? 

Probably not because there is that possibility I am making this way more than it should be. I did end up receiving a phone call from a fellow Mom and new friend.  From just a light conversation she made me feel  I was not the only one taking a step away from "the norm".  It put a smile on my face and lightened my mood greatly.  I need also add that this encouragment was done in a way that we were not trashing anyone that chose to enjoy a night of dancing and drinking.  In NO way were we making ourselves out to be better than anyone else.  It was more a confirmation in who we are, though I am pretty sure she was not feeling like a lost sheep, that was just me!

And there stands my case for relationships....we need to build each other up in ways that are free of  anything but true care and concern.  We need more straight shooters and less people hiding behind what society thinks makes us well liked.

It is so very simple and we make it all so complicated.

So the next time you are thinking of a friend call them, text them, or facebook them but do something.  Straight shoot!