Today is my mom's last day of employment with the State of Michigan!!! I am sure she did the happy dance as she turned in all her final things this morning to make her retirement final. I can only imagine how excited she is to close this chapter in life and start a new, less stressful chapter with my already retired father!
I can remember as a kid how enthusiastic my mom was to work for the DHS and actually put her college degree to use. In fact, the moment my mom got her job with the state, it truly was a blessing to our family. My father no longer had to work every overtime opportunity that came up, and mom was going to feel stable for once in a job. Just because she got that state job, it didn't mean the struggles and our appreciation of her hard work ended there. There were times that my family questioned if this job was right for her.
I remember the years she was a child protective service worker, and oh that job nearly killed my mom. Not physically, but emotionally. I still do not know how she was able to do that work, but I do know this that it takes a special person to do that job! My mom did it well, but boy did she cry. (Sorry Mom, keeping it real here!) She cried for all those families that were hurting and some of the struggles those babies had to go through. Heck I still cry for those poor babies now as a mother!
Over the past few years I have seen the transitional changes just add to additional stress of the job for my mom, but she did her job with pride. She made sure to do everything that she needed to get the job done, but at the same time it has added a lot of additional stress. I think anyone who is in her position currently, can attest that the stress is there. She did persevere through it all and boy when I talk to her on the phone now I can hear her smile. It is like this dark cloud has been lifted off her and she is ready to live that next chapter. And you know what? She deserves that.
In fact both my parents deserve to enjoy their retirement. Of course I am biased, but my parents sacrificed so much for my brother and I, and I am so absolutely grateful for the hard work they did to provide for us. We may have not had a lot as kids, but my parents provided for us and I know as an adult I appreciate even the little things because it was the little things in our young lives that had us the most happy.
Okay now enough of the mushy stuff! My parents are off on a month vacation in Florida, and it is much deserved! However I hope they realized that now that neither of them are working, I am going to be expecting a few more visits to Nebraska from them. I mean who wouldn't want to take a vacation to Nebraska to visit fabulous people:)
Thank you Mom for all that you did and still do for me...love you to the moon and back!
Friday, February 27, 2015
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Smells
After opening the garage door this morning to get the kiddos in the car to take Audrey to preschool, Ayden was very impressed with a smell. So impressed that he responded, "Mmmmm....me, me smell camp fire!" This really is a smell he enjoys. We talked about how it was more than likely someone's wood stove verse a camp fire, but either way he was happy with the smell. He proceeded to talk about camping and having a camp fire for the entire car ride to preschool. This was actually nice to talk about our experiences of camping. We discussed how Audrey prefers to camp in Meemaw and Papa's camper and Ayden just loves his camping chair. He probably does not care which type of camping he does, but really enjoys the elements of camping such as the camp fire and of course his Lightning McQueen camp chair.
It is funny how smells can bring us back to some great memories. I think when I smell wood stove I think about the times we had a stove to heat our house when I was little. Or even in either of my grandparents homes the small wood burning stoves they had in their homes. Today I would never think of having a wood burning stove in my house just for the simple fact that fire and kids really scares me. Like sends my anxiety over the edge of no return. However, I survived as a kid, so why am I so scared as a parent? I tell you why in one word: Ayden!
Another smell that Ayden absolutely loves is that of donuts! He says he can smell the donuts as we sit at the intersection of Cornhusker and 72nd. Of course Dunkin Donuts is right there, but he smells donuts all the time, and the crazy thing is this kid could eat a donut at every meal. He loves all kinds, even lemon ones as long as he is aware it has lemon filling in it. :) This is a great story to ask my father about as he got to share a lemon donut with Ayden and the experience was priceless.
Audrey really has no sense of smell, or if she does she doesn't use it to her advantage. Currently her splint that she does not need to be wearing anymore has an odor. It is the smell of sweat and dead skin. Even Ayden tells her it smells, but she is determined that the splint smells like lotion. She needs to keep telling herself that and convince herself, but in the meantime, I need to either find her a new splint or saturate that bad boy in perfume because it is makes me nauseous.
Whatever the smell, I think we all have memories that are triggered by our sense of smell. It is something so simple that can take us back down memory lane, and I think as Ayden brought that to my attention today it is something simple that can help us remember some great times to make our day better.
It is funny how smells can bring us back to some great memories. I think when I smell wood stove I think about the times we had a stove to heat our house when I was little. Or even in either of my grandparents homes the small wood burning stoves they had in their homes. Today I would never think of having a wood burning stove in my house just for the simple fact that fire and kids really scares me. Like sends my anxiety over the edge of no return. However, I survived as a kid, so why am I so scared as a parent? I tell you why in one word: Ayden!
Another smell that Ayden absolutely loves is that of donuts! He says he can smell the donuts as we sit at the intersection of Cornhusker and 72nd. Of course Dunkin Donuts is right there, but he smells donuts all the time, and the crazy thing is this kid could eat a donut at every meal. He loves all kinds, even lemon ones as long as he is aware it has lemon filling in it. :) This is a great story to ask my father about as he got to share a lemon donut with Ayden and the experience was priceless.
Audrey really has no sense of smell, or if she does she doesn't use it to her advantage. Currently her splint that she does not need to be wearing anymore has an odor. It is the smell of sweat and dead skin. Even Ayden tells her it smells, but she is determined that the splint smells like lotion. She needs to keep telling herself that and convince herself, but in the meantime, I need to either find her a new splint or saturate that bad boy in perfume because it is makes me nauseous.
Whatever the smell, I think we all have memories that are triggered by our sense of smell. It is something so simple that can take us back down memory lane, and I think as Ayden brought that to my attention today it is something simple that can help us remember some great times to make our day better.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Just One Question
I had one question this morning for my husband when I came downstairs and found him in the peaceful main floor of the house, enjoying his breakfast in peace. The question was, "Why can't I sleep in my bed without disruptions?" I think there are many parents that ask this question daily as well.
Last night, Audrey woke me up by curling up on the floor next to the bed with a blanket and multiple stuffed animals. I figured she was fine on the floor, until she began sighing and flopping around on the floor. Really? Just crawl into our bed already! I got up, gave her the pillow she used on the floor, and took my pillow to the spare bedroom with me to attempt to get some sleep.
Now I don't mind sleeping in the spare bedroom on occasion, but I feel lately I am in that room more than I want to be. The funny thing is though I think to myself, well at least I am alone in the room last night until the cat decided she didn't think me being alone was a good idea. I guess sleeping on my feet is her security to sleeping at night because that is what she does. She follows me everywhere, even when I have another kid in bed with me, she has to show her affection and that is getting old as well.
I have created this reality though. I have allowed Audrey to come into our room and take over my spot because lets face it I would rather have peace in the middle of the night verse a crying hot mess that she would become if I told her to go back to bed. It is my problem, my reality, and my lack of sleep, so I will own up to that. In fact maybe when she is a teenager I will miss the fact that she needed us this much as she does now. However I feel right now that my consumption of coffee and wine lately is due to my kids needing me so much.
There you have it, I will embrace and accept my children's desires to need me all the time as long as I have coffee and wine.
Last night, Audrey woke me up by curling up on the floor next to the bed with a blanket and multiple stuffed animals. I figured she was fine on the floor, until she began sighing and flopping around on the floor. Really? Just crawl into our bed already! I got up, gave her the pillow she used on the floor, and took my pillow to the spare bedroom with me to attempt to get some sleep.
Now I don't mind sleeping in the spare bedroom on occasion, but I feel lately I am in that room more than I want to be. The funny thing is though I think to myself, well at least I am alone in the room last night until the cat decided she didn't think me being alone was a good idea. I guess sleeping on my feet is her security to sleeping at night because that is what she does. She follows me everywhere, even when I have another kid in bed with me, she has to show her affection and that is getting old as well.
I have created this reality though. I have allowed Audrey to come into our room and take over my spot because lets face it I would rather have peace in the middle of the night verse a crying hot mess that she would become if I told her to go back to bed. It is my problem, my reality, and my lack of sleep, so I will own up to that. In fact maybe when she is a teenager I will miss the fact that she needed us this much as she does now. However I feel right now that my consumption of coffee and wine lately is due to my kids needing me so much.
There you have it, I will embrace and accept my children's desires to need me all the time as long as I have coffee and wine.
Monday, February 23, 2015
RSVPs
It is crazy how in the technology world that we live in now, how hard it is for folks to RSVP. It is almost as if this concept has gone out the window. Now I have to admit that I just RSVPed for an event that is tomorrow for a bowling event through our MOPS group, yet I feel I have to write about this topic even if I am at fault as well. Here is my excuse with why I did not respond to this RSVP, I have a kiddo with a broken wrist, so I was hesitant to completely say no, but wasn't sure if I should say yes either. Yet I still cannot use that as an excuse because guess what there was a maybe button to press. I opened the email a couple weeks ago, didn't take the time to RSVP and forgot about it until the last minute. Shame on me! And this is where my issue begins...
People plan activities such as get togethers, play dates, or birthday parties and it is normally important to have the RSVPs so folks know how many to prepare for. No one wants to look like they are unprepared and not have enough of something. But why is it that society is having this issue all of a sudden? I remember as a kid if I received a birthday party invitation you better believe I made sure to call or have my parents call so that I could go. You just didn't show up to a party without RSVPing, but today it is has become acceptable to RSVP at the last minute or better yet show up without RSVPing.
Or here is another issue I have seen: email. People send out emails and invite people to things and then you get nothing. Like no response. No sorry it won't work or thanks but no thanks. It is almost as if the email was never received and so you send out another one to get the same lack of response. Why do you think this is? I mean we have actually become a society where we could respond to folks without even speaking on a telephone, and we cannot even do that to acknowledge situations.
Is it that we are using technology to do the invites, etc, or is it simply because we are overwhelmed with activities? Or is it that we are just becoming lazy at responding? I truly do not know what the answer to this is, and would love for you to share some ideas as to why this may have gone to the wayside as being important. And maybe it is just me that thinks it is ludicrous that people no longer take the time to respond to others invites, and if that is the case sorry I wasted your time on this read.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Mess, Mess Everywhere!
Yesterday I was at my wits end with cleaning up after my two little humans! I mean how much mess can two kids make...if you saw my house you would be impressed. It was at that point after lunch I decided I was done nagging at my kids to clean up and I was done cleaning up after them. Sigh...my poor "B" team was going to be walking into a pig sty, but I was ready to teach the kids a lesson. The lesson that things don't miraculously clean themselves and that it is important to pick up what you were playing with before getting the next thing out. Now my OCD was going to suffer immensely by this, but really these kids needed to start taking responsibility for the messes they were creating.
I created a few stipulations for myself and the kids. I was only going to clean up the messes I created and I would tell my children that they needed to make sure they were doing their jobs to clean up after themselves. I would allow for them to have access to the paper towels, the broom, and full reign of getting any and all toys out, but they needed to realize that neither Tyler or I were going to clean up after them. This even included taking their dishes to the sink because Ayden is notorious for leaving his yogurt and spoon on the table all morning long...ugh!
Now I know my kiddos are little, but they are not too little to understand that mom and dad are not their personal maids. This challenge is going to be a work in progress and I apologize for anyone that is coming over. I will clean my house of the filth, but I am not picking up the toys or their dishes, so be prepared for that sight. I am hoping that it will only take a day for certain things to catch on. I know Audrey will notice, but we will have to see how long it takes Mr. Ayden.
I do believe this strategy will work for during the day, however at night I may not be able to handle the house being completely trashed. I feel there needs to be some sort of consequence though and that is when I remembered seeing a really cool concept of the kids earning their toys back from a tub that had been cleaned up by completing a chore. With that all being said I think I will eventually get to making my "Uh-Oh" tub and hold the kids a little more responsible. I really need to work on this not going to extremes when I have had it, but it is so hard not to when this is what my life consists of.
Here is to a successful "Uh-Oh" tub, responsible children, and momma's patience!
I created a few stipulations for myself and the kids. I was only going to clean up the messes I created and I would tell my children that they needed to make sure they were doing their jobs to clean up after themselves. I would allow for them to have access to the paper towels, the broom, and full reign of getting any and all toys out, but they needed to realize that neither Tyler or I were going to clean up after them. This even included taking their dishes to the sink because Ayden is notorious for leaving his yogurt and spoon on the table all morning long...ugh!
Now I know my kiddos are little, but they are not too little to understand that mom and dad are not their personal maids. This challenge is going to be a work in progress and I apologize for anyone that is coming over. I will clean my house of the filth, but I am not picking up the toys or their dishes, so be prepared for that sight. I am hoping that it will only take a day for certain things to catch on. I know Audrey will notice, but we will have to see how long it takes Mr. Ayden.
I do believe this strategy will work for during the day, however at night I may not be able to handle the house being completely trashed. I feel there needs to be some sort of consequence though and that is when I remembered seeing a really cool concept of the kids earning their toys back from a tub that had been cleaned up by completing a chore. With that all being said I think I will eventually get to making my "Uh-Oh" tub and hold the kids a little more responsible. I really need to work on this not going to extremes when I have had it, but it is so hard not to when this is what my life consists of.
Here is to a successful "Uh-Oh" tub, responsible children, and momma's patience!
Thursday, February 19, 2015
The B Team
Tyler is my "B" team. I truly feel that once he is home from work, my "B" team takes over and I am able to breathe just a little. The kids want all his attention verse mine, and I can actually get a meal cooked without a major catastrophe occurring. Now referring to him as my "B" team may sound a little harsh, but I actually stole this name from my mother in law, so I guess I don't feel that bad by using it. :)
It normally isn't until I Tyler takes a trip before I really realize how much help he is. There are days I question if it is just me running the show sometimes as the kids are always asking me for everything or waiting for me to solve the crisis, but I think I only feel that way when I am in the moment of solving the fifty millionth problem. I really take my "B" team for granted, and it took that trip away for me to realize how critic the "A" and "B" team need each other.
Last week Tyler was gone for an entire week for work and it was just me. Now in the grand scheme of things it is not that long, but when the kids are just being pills it seems like he was TDY for six months! The kids were giving me a run for my money and it seemed like I was counting down the minutes for Tyler to walk through the door.
For example, I would get through the day, cook dinner, get dishes put away, and then the bedtime routine was just hard. We were all tired and I just wanted the little humans to sleep and they refused. Giggling and just being kids, but I swear they were conspiring when I was out of the room just to see how far they could push me before I went absolutely crazy. Smart kids to a certain extend, but really, they have seen my crazy and it is not pretty. Why would they want their mom to get to this point? And all I can think as a reason here is because they are kids and that is what kids do, push the envelope and bring their mother to complete crazy.
However through all this I have realized how much my "B" team does. It may seem little at the moment, but even reading the stories at night helps more than I ever knew. After I read the same Little Critter book about Easter five days in a row, my eye began to twitch and I just craved a different book, even the longest Disney book would do, I just needed new material to work with. But for some reason that was one of the choices every night from Audrey and to avoid and epic meltdown I read away and prayed for Tyler to come home a day early just so I didn't have to read the same books. And it is crazy how just one more story turns into ten in a blink of an eye.
Or better yet, I appreciate the brushing of my kids teeth by the "B" team as well because guess what if I had to listen to another fight about who was going to brush first I may have thrown the toothbrushes down the clogged toilet mishap that they created during that last night before Tyler came home.
It is pretty evident that my "B" team helps out more than I can ever begin to describe. I think I have to learn to appreciate his efforts more when he is here because boy I miss his help when he is gone. These kids are like pirates just waiting for an opportunity of mutiny. I cannot fight them alone so with Tyler I think we can hold back the mutiny for a little long....I hope!
It normally isn't until I Tyler takes a trip before I really realize how much help he is. There are days I question if it is just me running the show sometimes as the kids are always asking me for everything or waiting for me to solve the crisis, but I think I only feel that way when I am in the moment of solving the fifty millionth problem. I really take my "B" team for granted, and it took that trip away for me to realize how critic the "A" and "B" team need each other.
Last week Tyler was gone for an entire week for work and it was just me. Now in the grand scheme of things it is not that long, but when the kids are just being pills it seems like he was TDY for six months! The kids were giving me a run for my money and it seemed like I was counting down the minutes for Tyler to walk through the door.
For example, I would get through the day, cook dinner, get dishes put away, and then the bedtime routine was just hard. We were all tired and I just wanted the little humans to sleep and they refused. Giggling and just being kids, but I swear they were conspiring when I was out of the room just to see how far they could push me before I went absolutely crazy. Smart kids to a certain extend, but really, they have seen my crazy and it is not pretty. Why would they want their mom to get to this point? And all I can think as a reason here is because they are kids and that is what kids do, push the envelope and bring their mother to complete crazy.
However through all this I have realized how much my "B" team does. It may seem little at the moment, but even reading the stories at night helps more than I ever knew. After I read the same Little Critter book about Easter five days in a row, my eye began to twitch and I just craved a different book, even the longest Disney book would do, I just needed new material to work with. But for some reason that was one of the choices every night from Audrey and to avoid and epic meltdown I read away and prayed for Tyler to come home a day early just so I didn't have to read the same books. And it is crazy how just one more story turns into ten in a blink of an eye.
Or better yet, I appreciate the brushing of my kids teeth by the "B" team as well because guess what if I had to listen to another fight about who was going to brush first I may have thrown the toothbrushes down the clogged toilet mishap that they created during that last night before Tyler came home.
It is pretty evident that my "B" team helps out more than I can ever begin to describe. I think I have to learn to appreciate his efforts more when he is here because boy I miss his help when he is gone. These kids are like pirates just waiting for an opportunity of mutiny. I cannot fight them alone so with Tyler I think we can hold back the mutiny for a little long....I hope!
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Reverse Lent Challenge
Okay so I am not Catholic, but I am always intrigued by giving things up for Lent. I see a lot of folks give up Facebook, chocolate, soda, etc, but it wasn't until the other day I saw an article about a Reverse Lent Challenge. Here is the deal, I loved this concept and I am doing it!
This is just too good for me at this point in my life to not do. I love writing and I love getting mail, but why not share the love of getting mail to others? Now my issue is going to be who will I send these notes to, and also will it be acceptable to hand deliver this notes or should I truly stick with mailing only? This is the fun part because these are decisions that are seriously not going to hurt anything and actually are easy decisions. I need easy right now because lately I feel like I am trying to make the right decision constantly and not damage anyone's self esteem or hurt feelings and I have been stressed by walking on egg shells with this.
I am going to give myself some parameters and I really think by me writing this all down, I will stick to my plan. First off I am a little behind by purchasing my items, but I am sure I have a card and a stamp around the house to begin the challenge. But my first thing I need to do is go buy some notecards and find the stamps that I know are kept safe by Tyler. Then I will need to find a place to put these purchased items and set aside a specific time of day to write this daily note. I am thinking that after the kids go to bed I should write the quick note before I dive into a book or my writing, okay lets be real, or before I pass out. All I have to do is make sure I do this daily. I better write a list of all the people I send it to as well so I don't double up or forget to write the note for that day. Also I have to realize that there are more than 40 days before Easter, so 40 isn't the magic number for the total of notecards.
Anyone else going to join me in this challenge?
This is just too good for me at this point in my life to not do. I love writing and I love getting mail, but why not share the love of getting mail to others? Now my issue is going to be who will I send these notes to, and also will it be acceptable to hand deliver this notes or should I truly stick with mailing only? This is the fun part because these are decisions that are seriously not going to hurt anything and actually are easy decisions. I need easy right now because lately I feel like I am trying to make the right decision constantly and not damage anyone's self esteem or hurt feelings and I have been stressed by walking on egg shells with this.
I am going to give myself some parameters and I really think by me writing this all down, I will stick to my plan. First off I am a little behind by purchasing my items, but I am sure I have a card and a stamp around the house to begin the challenge. But my first thing I need to do is go buy some notecards and find the stamps that I know are kept safe by Tyler. Then I will need to find a place to put these purchased items and set aside a specific time of day to write this daily note. I am thinking that after the kids go to bed I should write the quick note before I dive into a book or my writing, okay lets be real, or before I pass out. All I have to do is make sure I do this daily. I better write a list of all the people I send it to as well so I don't double up or forget to write the note for that day. Also I have to realize that there are more than 40 days before Easter, so 40 isn't the magic number for the total of notecards.
Anyone else going to join me in this challenge?
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