Can it be? Is it nearly here?!? Christmas! How strange it has been enjoying the season. You would think all my baking and shopping would be done & my house would be clean....lol...yeah right. Reality set in & life got busy. Now, don't get me wrong, compared to being a working mom, this is a hell of a lot less crazy....but we added several tasks to life that weren't there when I was working....for one, the boys are both in basketball. So this weekend was spent lugging the kids to and from their games (2 on Saturday, 1 on Sunday) and then sqeezing church and faith formation in between. I blinked & my weekend was gone!! I wouldn't have changed it for the world!
I did manage to watch Kung Fu Panda 2 with the boys. Of everything, that had to be my favorite moment of the entire weekend. Vincey, exhuasted & at one point, got up and said 'g'night' while heading upstairs...I really thought the lil booger was putting himself to bed. Reality set in for him with the dark hallways and empty rooms & he headed back down right away....he settled on stopping at the closet, pulling out a blanket and snuggling on mommy's lap with his lil arms slung around my neck. Dom, of course, got in on the action and scooted over, nestling himself under my arm (and under the covers too). I kissed his head and whispered 'you wanted some momma love too' he whispered back 'no momma, I'm just scared'. I pretened he had said 'yes' and kept on snuggling. I love that my boys watch TV with a blanket...it drives hubby nuts, but there are certain things you watch your children do and you smile because you just KNOW they got that from you.....and that is so me!
Today is my last really 'busy' day. I now watch 5 children in addition to my 3 (only 1 is mon-fri, 3 are 3-4 days a week & 1 is as needed and temporary) and today I have them all.....for the last time this year. I will have 1 still, for the rest of the week, but after lugging 5 kids to target (3 of the oldest were at school at the time) on an emergency diaper run the 1 doesn't even phase me...so I am taking it easy...playing with the kids (after they get up from nap) and tomorrow I will start palnning for cookie baking & present wrapping......
Merry Christmas!
Monday, December 19, 2011
Saturday, November 12, 2011
And So It Will Be
With all of its Pros and Cons, it looks as though I will be resigning from my 13 year position come Monday. I have been on vacation this passed week & tried unsuccessfully to find a new care provider for my 3 amazing children. I am both anxious and excited about beginning this new chapter in life. I feel relieved to have a final decision at hand, but very nervous about calling my boss on Monday to give them the news. I have yet to tell my children....although Isaiah, with his smart self, has pretty much figured it out and has hinted at that fact with the questions he has been asking. Dominique is the one that will be excited beyond words at having mommy stay home with him....We worked this week learning different preschool concepts & I am simply amazed at how smart he really is....come to find out, I did have the most amazing babysitter ever & she has worked with him on so much, that he even properly named a hexagon (yeah...I know adults that couldn't do that!). I have to have faith that this is where I am intended to be....I mean it HAS been a silent prayer every Sunday that I better see God's intended path for me...Perhaps God finally caught on that subtle hinting isn't my strong suit & he just made it impossbile to find somebody willing to care for my boys....I mean, in this economy it should have been EASY to find somebody wanting to make an extra $25o a week caring for boys that practically watch themselves. I smile as I think about it. This last week I have smiled and laughed more than I have in a long time. I have started seeing the magic in the little moments...something I used to do so well, but have missed over the last year. Like just now, as I type, my 2 older boys commented about how I look more pretty when I have my scarf and glasses on...that it doesn't matter what the rest of my clothes look like, when I have those two things on, I am automatically more pretty....what amazing little hearts (especially since I made the scarf myself & feel like such a dork in my glasses!). Earlier this week, Dominique, Vince & I organized our play room...and as Dom and I put all the cars in the car bin and all the trains in the train bin, Vincey grabbed them all out and threw them back onto the floor.....Exasperated, I told Vincey he wasn't being very nice & he had to say sorry to Dom for making this so difficult for him...Dom, very seriously, looks at me and says 'its ok mommy...he doesn't know that word yet, and he isn't doing it on purpose, so he doesn't need to say sorry'....these moments are the ones that I live for...the ones that make being a mommy the absolute best job in the world.....the ones that make me so certain that this new path is where I am intended to travel....at least for a little while. When things get difficult or i doubt myself, which I am sure will happen at least 1 minute out of every 10, I will smile.... just until I mean it ;)
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Dominique on how babies are born
'mom, did you know that fish throw up their babies?'
'fish throw up their babies? what do you mean?'
'well, you know that mommy fishes have their babies in their belly,and when the babies have to be born, they throw up and all the baby fishes go everywhere...thats how they are born'
'fish throw up their babies? what do you mean?'
'well, you know that mommy fishes have their babies in their belly,and when the babies have to be born, they throw up and all the baby fishes go everywhere...thats how they are born'
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
My Dearest Vincey
Vincent Ethan was the calmest of my babies from the day he was born. He patiently waited for Grandma to get to the hospital before making his entrance into the world....I say he patiently waited because everything was ready for the pushing to begin, but we had stict instructions from Grandma that there would be no baby birthing until she arrived. Oh how I wished Grandma knew how to speed.
As I was saying, Vincey was always happy to just be. He didn't need to be entertained or a part of the action, so long as he was in the room to watch. Vince would wake up to eat at all hours of the night, and then would go straight back to sleep. There were no early morning stretches of sleep eprivation. He was an amazing littlest man, and stayed that way...until recently that is.
I was making dinner one evening & Vincey was doing everything to stay under my feet, and get on my nerves! He wanted to be held, then put down, then to take everything out of the cupboards, then to put everything into the garbage....and he wanted to do all of this while whining! He just wanted to be a fussing fool! Out of frustration, I finally asked him "Vincey, who are you and where did you put my content little man?!?" He smiled at me...the funniest little smile, and it dawned on me....my littlest man was pretneding to be 2!
Now, as I type, Vincey is running from one end of the living room to the other, screaming at the tippy top of his lungs and flinging himself on the ground. He is angry at me. I took away his outside priveleges today and he hasn't yet learned that mommy's attitutde and stubbornness is bigger! (hey, he got it from somebody right?!?). He is getting even angrier that his temper tantrum is being ignored, poor child, doesn't he realize I have done this before?!? I survived the terrible 2's twice over now.....I know that one morning, I will wake up and my child will have become human again. It seems to happen overnight, and I love when it does!! Until then, I will treasure the moments inbetween tantrums, when my Vincey cuddles next to me on the couch, with a blanket over our laps and and a book in our hands. Or when he is laying on his belly pushing trains along the floor.
Vincey has spent so much time just being content that he forgot to explore the world. Until recently, he didn't want to learn any words. He had no use for them. On his way to pretending to be 2, he has learned 'no', 'stop', 'mama', 'papa', 'uh oh', and 'no, no, no'. I suppose being the youngest boy, you have to get the necessities down first......so whether it is putting his brothers in check, or trying to tattle on them for not giving him his way, Vincey has learned the basic vocab to survive a day in his life....I am sure 'eat' will be next...that is definately a typical boy word!
My littlest man.....now that the tantrum has subsided and happiness has been found in the world of trains, I suppose I can safely persue dinner. Even in the moments of total meltdowns, there is nowhere I would rather be....
I stopped to get coffee Monday morning, and had the two littlest men with me...As the lady made my frappacino (happiness in a cup), she made small talk about how having all boys must keep my hands full. I smiled as she handed me my coffee, and I told her there was absolutely no othe way i would have it. My boys, all three of them, are amazing little men....and they are the reason I can smile through anything!!
As I was saying, Vincey was always happy to just be. He didn't need to be entertained or a part of the action, so long as he was in the room to watch. Vince would wake up to eat at all hours of the night, and then would go straight back to sleep. There were no early morning stretches of sleep eprivation. He was an amazing littlest man, and stayed that way...until recently that is.
I was making dinner one evening & Vincey was doing everything to stay under my feet, and get on my nerves! He wanted to be held, then put down, then to take everything out of the cupboards, then to put everything into the garbage....and he wanted to do all of this while whining! He just wanted to be a fussing fool! Out of frustration, I finally asked him "Vincey, who are you and where did you put my content little man?!?" He smiled at me...the funniest little smile, and it dawned on me....my littlest man was pretneding to be 2!
Now, as I type, Vincey is running from one end of the living room to the other, screaming at the tippy top of his lungs and flinging himself on the ground. He is angry at me. I took away his outside priveleges today and he hasn't yet learned that mommy's attitutde and stubbornness is bigger! (hey, he got it from somebody right?!?). He is getting even angrier that his temper tantrum is being ignored, poor child, doesn't he realize I have done this before?!? I survived the terrible 2's twice over now.....I know that one morning, I will wake up and my child will have become human again. It seems to happen overnight, and I love when it does!! Until then, I will treasure the moments inbetween tantrums, when my Vincey cuddles next to me on the couch, with a blanket over our laps and and a book in our hands. Or when he is laying on his belly pushing trains along the floor.
Vincey has spent so much time just being content that he forgot to explore the world. Until recently, he didn't want to learn any words. He had no use for them. On his way to pretending to be 2, he has learned 'no', 'stop', 'mama', 'papa', 'uh oh', and 'no, no, no'. I suppose being the youngest boy, you have to get the necessities down first......so whether it is putting his brothers in check, or trying to tattle on them for not giving him his way, Vincey has learned the basic vocab to survive a day in his life....I am sure 'eat' will be next...that is definately a typical boy word!
My littlest man.....now that the tantrum has subsided and happiness has been found in the world of trains, I suppose I can safely persue dinner. Even in the moments of total meltdowns, there is nowhere I would rather be....
I stopped to get coffee Monday morning, and had the two littlest men with me...As the lady made my frappacino (happiness in a cup), she made small talk about how having all boys must keep my hands full. I smiled as she handed me my coffee, and I told her there was absolutely no othe way i would have it. My boys, all three of them, are amazing little men....and they are the reason I can smile through anything!!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Story of my life
What a weekend!!
Looking back over the last couple of days, I cannot help but wonder how in the world I survived. It was my weekend to work, although, it seems to be my weekend to work more than it isn't, but thats another story. So I spent the last two days with most of my waking hours being run ragged in the world of retail. Mind you, I did get massive amounts of work done, but that also means when I finally did get to sit down my whole body was tingling from exhaustion and I just wanted to curl up and sleep. My children, of course, were so full of energy and thrilled to see me. They had all kinds of things to fill me in on. Isaiah finished his family homework assignment, which was a picture of what magic looked like to him. (keep in mind, Isaiah was heart broken when I left for work this morning because he wanted to finish the project with me & wasn't sure what to draw. In my rush, I asked him what comes to mind when he thinks of magic & he said a bunny in a hat. Simple enough, I said, take a black paper, cut out a top hat, white cotton balls for the bunny and little strips of colorful paper for the sparks when the magic happens) I smiled to myself as I admired the wonderful depiction of the bunny in the hat, done exactly as I had suggested. I had gotten to help him from afar.
Dominique wanted to tell me all about what he was going to invent when he grows up....I can't quite remember what it was, but I know it required him making his own wires and involved a robot of sorts. Future inventions are a common topic in my house at the moment. Isaiah and Dominique play off each others ideas, and today was no different. As Dominique started the description, Isaiah would add to it and get more excited as the idea became bigger and bigger. I thought to myself, as this very lengthy description was going on, that I might very well be raising the next wright brothers.
Then came Vincey...my amazing littlest man....he is the strong silent type. Vincey is beginning to use his words.....very very slowly...but well on his way. I called for him & told him mommy needed a kiss. He came running over to me with puckered lips I knelt down to get my kiss. Just as our lips were about to touch, he looked at me, smiled & shook his head no. I asked 'no?! did mommy just get rejected?' Another smile and a quick shake of his head, up and down while clapping. Little booger, finally figured out how to say yes & used it correctly, I think I would have liked it better if he wasn't confirming his mother's rejection with applause!
I missed a lot this weekend. I spent more of my waking hours at work than with my boys....I got a lot of work done, ran myself ragged, and tomorrow it will be unappreciated. But the moment I came through the door, my family appreciated my presence. The feeling that all was right now that mommy was home. The happiness. The laughter. The rejected kisses. The bedtime prayers and little arms strangling me as they avoided that final goodnight before the lights went out. Its these moments that I am truly myself. Tonight....my heart smiled big.
Looking back over the last couple of days, I cannot help but wonder how in the world I survived. It was my weekend to work, although, it seems to be my weekend to work more than it isn't, but thats another story. So I spent the last two days with most of my waking hours being run ragged in the world of retail. Mind you, I did get massive amounts of work done, but that also means when I finally did get to sit down my whole body was tingling from exhaustion and I just wanted to curl up and sleep. My children, of course, were so full of energy and thrilled to see me. They had all kinds of things to fill me in on. Isaiah finished his family homework assignment, which was a picture of what magic looked like to him. (keep in mind, Isaiah was heart broken when I left for work this morning because he wanted to finish the project with me & wasn't sure what to draw. In my rush, I asked him what comes to mind when he thinks of magic & he said a bunny in a hat. Simple enough, I said, take a black paper, cut out a top hat, white cotton balls for the bunny and little strips of colorful paper for the sparks when the magic happens) I smiled to myself as I admired the wonderful depiction of the bunny in the hat, done exactly as I had suggested. I had gotten to help him from afar.
Dominique wanted to tell me all about what he was going to invent when he grows up....I can't quite remember what it was, but I know it required him making his own wires and involved a robot of sorts. Future inventions are a common topic in my house at the moment. Isaiah and Dominique play off each others ideas, and today was no different. As Dominique started the description, Isaiah would add to it and get more excited as the idea became bigger and bigger. I thought to myself, as this very lengthy description was going on, that I might very well be raising the next wright brothers.
Then came Vincey...my amazing littlest man....he is the strong silent type. Vincey is beginning to use his words.....very very slowly...but well on his way. I called for him & told him mommy needed a kiss. He came running over to me with puckered lips I knelt down to get my kiss. Just as our lips were about to touch, he looked at me, smiled & shook his head no. I asked 'no?! did mommy just get rejected?' Another smile and a quick shake of his head, up and down while clapping. Little booger, finally figured out how to say yes & used it correctly, I think I would have liked it better if he wasn't confirming his mother's rejection with applause!
I missed a lot this weekend. I spent more of my waking hours at work than with my boys....I got a lot of work done, ran myself ragged, and tomorrow it will be unappreciated. But the moment I came through the door, my family appreciated my presence. The feeling that all was right now that mommy was home. The happiness. The laughter. The rejected kisses. The bedtime prayers and little arms strangling me as they avoided that final goodnight before the lights went out. Its these moments that I am truly myself. Tonight....my heart smiled big.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Wishing it were easier
If ever there were a time that I wished I could see the future to know how this turns out...now would be it. One day, I have a plan, I have made a decision, and I am ready to make changes...then the next day happens and we are back at square one.
This shouldn't be a difficult decision. I am a mommy before all else. There is nowhere I would rather be than with my children. I don't have affordable childcare, and it doesn't make sense for me to work at the rates I would have to be paying. But I have worked since I was 16 years old....not only that, but I have worked for the same company that entire span. Giving up the financial stability that comes with me working, giving up the security of a long term position within a stable company, giving up nearly 13 years tenure with 4 weeks vacation time....its a choice that cannot be undone....its a chance....and I have never been very good at those.
This shouldn't be a difficult decision. I am a mommy before all else. There is nowhere I would rather be than with my children. I don't have affordable childcare, and it doesn't make sense for me to work at the rates I would have to be paying. But I have worked since I was 16 years old....not only that, but I have worked for the same company that entire span. Giving up the financial stability that comes with me working, giving up the security of a long term position within a stable company, giving up nearly 13 years tenure with 4 weeks vacation time....its a choice that cannot be undone....its a chance....and I have never been very good at those.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Just Another Day
A mommy never stops smiling....
This has more truth in it than you realize. Sometimes, as a mommy, I am smiling because my 3 boys are absolutely amazing and bring me more joy than words could ever express.....the kind of moments that facebook status' are made of. Then, at other times, I smile because they have said or done something that makes me laugh and think 'this really isn't happening right now'....you know what I am talking about. The smile that comes from that moment when all you can think is 'this isn't really my life'. Funny, though, those moments also make it to become great facebook status' too. You have to wonder if some people stay on your friends list just because your life makes them a bit more grateful for their own....who knows...
So, where are we? Well, I am currently a working mother of 3.....ages 8, 4, and 2....but on Monday, my notice will officially be given & I will be staying home with my boys on a full time basis. Its quite a change. The kind I wish I could watch somebody else go through & then decide for myself if it is something I can do. The staying home part doesn't scare me. I really do have cool kids....but the not having money part...holy smokes I am not ready for that!! I haven't told the kids yet, just in case something happens and I keep working. Dom would be crushed if I told him I was staying home & then didn't. He is the 4 year old & is my baby....I mean...not my favorite or anything because mommy's don't have those, but he is the middle child (which I was) and he favors me....when daddy is tickling mommy & Isaiah is holding me down & Vincey (the true baby) is plopping himself on my face.....Dom is the only one trying to rescue me. Bless his little heart. This, for the record, is an unfair fight....given the physical proportions of my family, Isaiah, daddy & vincey are built like football players...mommy & Dom are closer to string beans. Daddy can hold both of my hands in one of his....So, in a tickle fight, mommy & Dom lose (but we do put up a pretty darn good fight).
In any event, we are on the verge of a huge change for my family...feel free to follow along...even I don't know how this one will go....but I bet I will smile through it!!
This has more truth in it than you realize. Sometimes, as a mommy, I am smiling because my 3 boys are absolutely amazing and bring me more joy than words could ever express.....the kind of moments that facebook status' are made of. Then, at other times, I smile because they have said or done something that makes me laugh and think 'this really isn't happening right now'....you know what I am talking about. The smile that comes from that moment when all you can think is 'this isn't really my life'. Funny, though, those moments also make it to become great facebook status' too. You have to wonder if some people stay on your friends list just because your life makes them a bit more grateful for their own....who knows...
So, where are we? Well, I am currently a working mother of 3.....ages 8, 4, and 2....but on Monday, my notice will officially be given & I will be staying home with my boys on a full time basis. Its quite a change. The kind I wish I could watch somebody else go through & then decide for myself if it is something I can do. The staying home part doesn't scare me. I really do have cool kids....but the not having money part...holy smokes I am not ready for that!! I haven't told the kids yet, just in case something happens and I keep working. Dom would be crushed if I told him I was staying home & then didn't. He is the 4 year old & is my baby....I mean...not my favorite or anything because mommy's don't have those, but he is the middle child (which I was) and he favors me....when daddy is tickling mommy & Isaiah is holding me down & Vincey (the true baby) is plopping himself on my face.....Dom is the only one trying to rescue me. Bless his little heart. This, for the record, is an unfair fight....given the physical proportions of my family, Isaiah, daddy & vincey are built like football players...mommy & Dom are closer to string beans. Daddy can hold both of my hands in one of his....So, in a tickle fight, mommy & Dom lose (but we do put up a pretty darn good fight).
In any event, we are on the verge of a huge change for my family...feel free to follow along...even I don't know how this one will go....but I bet I will smile through it!!
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