Monday, August 29, 2011

what's your version of beautiful???...

What is your version of beautiful?
Do you see it when you look in the mirror?

Why is it sometimes so easy to feel great in your own skin, and other times it's so hard to live inside your own shell...???

Not feeling too great about myself these days, and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the extra 10 lbs I've put on in the last 6-9 months??? Maybe it's the fact that I'm so cotton picking exhausted that I can't even see straight right now...  or maybe that I have to have photos taken of myself tomorrow.

I'm not sure, but my friend made a great point to me today. She said 'you better be careful what you say about yourself - your little girls are going to pick up on it' .

Mmmmhmmmm, yep, she was right, as usual!
 I do need to be careful.
There are little ears listening to my every word, (no pressure) and those little ears are forming what their own version of what beautiful is. I want them to worry about what's on the inside, not the outside. So, why is it so hard to do that myself?

Praying that God will give me peace inside my own skin, so that I can be the example to my girls that will teach them that beauty is more about our character than our appearance!

Monday, August 22, 2011

flippity flop feelings...

 I have approx. 1 and a half days at home with my girls before I work umpteen (8) days straight, we head for a quick labor day weekend getaway, and then it's BACK TO SCHOOL.

I am really not sure if I should feel sad (which I kind of am). Or be happy that we will get back to a routine, and friends, and art projects sent home, and homework, and back to school nights, and this and that, and the other. My feelings are flippity flopping all over the place!

My kids are getting so big, and I sometimes wish I could just freeze them where they are. ENJOY them just as they are in this moment, for a little bit longer. I guess, in a sense,  Summertime gives me this. It gives me endless days just them and me. No routine, just fly by the seat of our pants... I like it!

The girls (well Bella mostly) is getting antsy (actually crabby) - so I know that she is ready to be back at it! She gets bored easily if she isn't kept busy, so I know that Summer and it's easiness has begun to get to her.

One more year of preschool for Meritt, and boy I am going to SAVOR this year! My last year, with a kid at home (at least part of the day) and then she's off to get all grown up too!

Third grade and the second year of preschool, how did all this go by so fast?
They are getting too big I tell you...
What's next college?

Well, I guess, all I can do, is just enjoy them, and this lovely Summer while I can!

Thursday, August 11, 2011

no one said this parenting gig was easy...

Where do I begin? When the doctor puts that baby on your chest, and you wait to hear that cry for the first time, you can't even imagine all the phases, stages, and trials you will go through now that you are a parent. That baby doesn't come with a handbook, and no one tells you about all the things you should and shouldn't do.

So, for the most part, it's a trial and error thing this parenting gig.
Most of all for the first child.
Because lets face it, we know nothing before the first kid enters our world.

My sweet Bella is eight. She is a good girl. I mean a really good girl. She has her moments of course, and don't mistake the word good for easy in that sentence up above, because easy she hasn't been, and I'm sure that will only grow as she does. This year, more than any other year of her life, she is stretching her wings a bit and looking for some independence. The hard part as a parent is to know, what you should let them do, and what you shouldn't.

Matt and I talked earlier in the Summer, and decided that she might be ready to walk to school come fall. She has a group of friends, and our plan (if agreed by the other parents) is to let them walk as a group, on the same route each day. We would have 'safe houses' marked along their route of neighbors that we know and trust, just in case they might have a problem along the way to or from school. Since she will be walking several blocks here soon, and had never been allowed to walk farther than around our block by herself. We decided that we would let her walk the 4 blocks to my parents house from time to time.

At first, she would start walking before us, while we were on our way over.
Now, she is walking the dog over once or twice a day... asking permission before she leaves.

I walked to school every day since the 1st grade, and I walked a half a mile each day.
I did fine, and turned out fine. Others would say it's a different world we live in today, and that it's not safe.

The whole thing leaves this lingering question inside of me....
Should I shelter her, just in case something bad could happen?
Or should I teach her to be independent, and responsible, and capable, so that when she enters the real world; in not that long of time, she will be ready!

These decisions are hard.

I'm not sure if I should follow what others are doing; which seems to be playing it safe just in case... or let her fly a little bit?

What do you think?
Does the whole idea of letting an 8 year old walk a few block alone scare you? Or do you think it's a good idea to teach kids a little responsibility bite by bite, so that they are capable human beings by the time they leave the nest?

I know there are probably a lot of you out there reading this that have WAAAAYYY more knowledge and know how in this department. We've got 3 weeks until school starts, and this Mama could really use some advice! Please let me know what you think... What have you done? How do yo feel about this? Anything would be helpful!

I sure wish I would have gotten a parenting handbook when I left the hospital with my bundle of joys! :)

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

homes tour 2011...

I promised pictures...
So, here they are, a few days late, but I've been a little tired. Sorry.
Everything went really well, and we had a great time.
The best part of the weekend for sure, hands down, was getting to pick up the girls from Gramma D... and bring them home! My heart, and this house just isn't right without them. So glad we did it, but very glad it's over too! Glad to have August to have fun, and be a family, and forget about all the projects for a while! But, I have to say it's awfully nice to have the projects done and behind us!





P.S. I totally forgot to take pics of the basement... my brain was sort of working on the same mode brains work at after having a baby, totally exhausted and spacey.! I'll try to take some pics this week to make it up to you! ;)