Mom of the Year

When I have some of those not-so-proud mothering moments I often refer to just missing the title of Mother of the Year.  I was so close-- until that boy jumped in the fountain and would. not. get. out!  And because he made me get him out I may (or may not) have spanked him outside the restaurant. 
Or was it that time (Ok I do it all the time) that I fed them protein bars for dinner.
Or was it that time when I locked us out of the house, I knew no one and didn’t know hubby’s phone number, then one of the boys fell in the canal and had to wear my tank top until hubby showed up and rescued us.
There is also my parenting book that will be coming out any day now.  Just finishing up the last chapter titled “How to take your kid to a bar and hold your head high”.  I KID!
Recently, I saw this video and it pretty much sums it up.


Do you think these two want to be my friend?  I think we could have a blast together!

I’m 40!

Really, can you believe it?  I know I am so young in many ways, so “40” comes as a bit of a surprise.  Good thing 40 is the new 30 because my 30’s flew by!
When I saw this yesterday, I cracked up. 

I was a pretty “fun” 20 year old, so now I can say I am twice as fun.  I just go to bed a lot earlier than most 20 year olds!
My sweetie took the day off and we went to one of our favorite beaches for a walk and to do some treasure hunting.  When treasure hunting it is important to keep an open mind.  We saw so many fragments of beautiful sea biscuits, conch and sea urchins.  We just never found that “perfect shell”  We did find some wild hermit crabs that we brought the boys, but that is a whole other story that has smiles and tears!
As we were walking we had a little rain off and on some high winds, some really hot weather.  Not perfect, but it was still so wonderful.
As we were turning around and heading back and I looked at the bucket of all the small treasures we had found, and was taken in by the beauty of the colors.  Pinks, tans, aquas and white were there.  It’s just that nothing in that bucket was perfect.

It reminded me of one of my favorite decorating blogs, The Nester.  Her motto is “It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful”.  Can I get an Amen to that?
During our walk, I was thinking about that phrase and turning it over and over in my mind.   Our walk…it wasn’t perfect, but it was beautiful.  The weather…it wasn’t perfect, but it was beautiful.   The shells we collected…they weren’t perfect, but it was beautiful.
Pretty true for my life too.  It sure isn’t perfect, but it is quite beautiful.  Kind of true for my 40th birthday.  It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.  I think I just found a new motto for my 40s.

Make a wish!  it may come true, or it may not.  At least now I have the perspective of “It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.”
You can’t ask for more than that.

Is this my life? Really??

A few weeks ago my sister called me and the conversation went something like this:
Michele:  Hey, what are you doing?
Me: Um, just trying to get pictures of Miller drinking from Hank’s water bowl with a bendy straw.
Michele:  Rolls around laughing hysterically telling anyone who will listen what is going on here at my house.
Me:  Is that wrong?
For me, that isn’t all that unusual.  Yes, this is my life.
My pictures didn’t turn out of that scene.

This my nemesis.  

Miller just lets the water free flow any chance he gets. 
Three times.  Three times while writing this post he got into the water.  Yes, I know what you’re thinking!.  That’s annoying!
Yesterday Miller and I went for a bike ride.  I came home, turned on Curious George for Miller and went upstairs to change the sheets.  I was fully expecting to see 453 Legos on the floor when I came down.
This is a pretty typical sight

To my delight, I saw my child sitting on the sofa watching Curious George intently.  Finally, I thought.  It was a hard road getting to that one time where he didn’t destroy the house when left alone.  I was pretty proud. 
That’s why a little while later, I was looking for something upstairs and I came down to see he had gotten into something, I realized it wasn’t really his fault.  it was mine.  I was too proud.
I was able to grab my camera and document it though!  The pictures aren’t fine photography, but they will give you a good laugh!
For your viewing enjoyment:
Miller and the Barbeque Sauce
   
Yes, this is my life, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Just what I needed

After a tough week, I got just what I needed. Reading these posts really put it all in perspective.
My boys have been a little sick and we have made way too many visits to the Dr. BUT we have total access to world class medicine.
My children make a mess because they pull things out and leave them all over the place. BUT it is because we have so much. A house with roomS and lots of things to fill them up. Most importantly, the boys are curious enough to explore their surroundings.
We have a great support from all the people who love us.
All this is a contrast to what the people on the Compassion trip are seeing now. It was just what I needed exactly when I needed it!