# 0031: Fixing Breakfast

I heard the other day about a family who is going from two incomes to one. It’s something that they want and it sounds like they are really looking forward to it! One of the specific things the mother mentioned being excited about is fixing her kids breakfast in the morning.

I had never thought about it before, but I believe now I will “love” making my kids breakfast. 

It’s never been a job I hated or anything- I’ve just never thought about it. But now, since I’ve thought about it, I love how nice it is to wake up when we feel like it and eat whatever we want… together… sitting down and talking about what we’re going to do that day. Yes, I love fixing breakfast for my kids (even it is just Quaker Oatmeal with tap water).

# 0030: Sharing My Own Childhood

Over the past year, we have been able to procure some “family heirlooms” from various family members. I’m not into collecting a bunch of stuff because we have our own household of stuff, but when there’s some little old something that holds a memory for me I want it!- because I want to share it with my kids. A lot of my motivation for anything comes from wanting to give my kids a good, healthy, magical, memorable childhood. And sharing a piece of my own childhood with them adds to their’s. Sharing my own childhood memories about anything with them connects us, sharing memories about grandparents or other relatives gives them a sense of where they come from, doing something new and special with them makes them feel special and over-all it’s just a good, bonding time!

When my grandma passed away last summer the only things I really wanted were her old storybooks and her plastic McDonaldland plates. We use the plates only when we eat pancakes (because eating pancakes was a fun thing at Grandma’s house- she made them into any animal shape we requested) and we keep her books put up and only read them every once in a while. It’s like a visit to her house. Over the holidays, I got her jar of marbles and her old tin Chinese checkers board that I remember my cousins and I playing with at her house. I know my kids wont have very many memories with her in them- that’s just how life works, but I love that I get to share with them the same things that were shared with me as a kid. I feel like it connects the generations.

Before my oldest was born I asked my other grandma (yes, we are blessed with lots of grandparents, but that’s another post) if she remembered reading “Wynken, Blynken and Nod” to me when I was little. She couldn’t find her book, but found the exact same one at a flea market. I was so excited! I loved reading that poem to my baby girl. I love that we can go to her house and my kids can play with the same wooden blocks that my cousins and I played with also.

I love being able to share these same things with my kids. Now, these memories my not end up being as special to them. They may remember other things and hold other memories dear. That’s okay! My kids may get something completely different out of it. Either way, I’ve shared a little family history with them. They know where they come from. I’ve shared a little bit of me with them. They know what makes their mama tick. I’ve shared something with them period. We’ve had a good time.

Of course, I’d rather these things be in my grandma’s house with her there, too, but that’s not the way this world works. I know it’s all just stuff, but it’s also a vehicle for bonding and learning. I love that I am able to share so much with my kids because I was given great memories as child. Now I can relive them. I like to watch the same old cartoons with my kids, eat Jello out of fancy glasses, play the same made up games and of course, tell stories that remind me and my kids that I used to be a kid, too.

I don’t want to leave out anyone who had a not-so-awesome childhood or someone who can’t get a hold of those old family artifacts- even if there is a type of gum you remember chewing or a cartoon you liked to watch, find it on the internet or a flea market or at least something that reminds you of the original. It’s fun for kids to think of their parents as being kids once upon a time. I love being a kid again with my kids!

"Think not forever of yourselves, O Chiefs, nor of your own generation. Think of continuing generations of our families, think of our grandchildren and of those yet unborn, whose faces are coming from beneath the ground."  -T.S. Eliot

#0029: Understanding/ Forgivness/ Honesty

Last month, the big kids and I were making Valentine cookies for the big girl's preschool class. I understand that public schools wont let you bring in homemade treats for parties so I've tried to do as much homemade stuff with my daughter as we can for things like this in preschool. I kept it pretty simple- just sugar cookies, store-bought icing and red sprinkles.

The problem was I had been up waaaaaaaaay past my bedtime the night before due to some major computer issues (ended up with a new hard drive). I was tired and a little stressed about our computer issues plus all the time I wasted on it when I had a ton of other things to do.

I think the kids were having fun rolling out the dough, wearing their aprons, and smashing the heart-shaped cookie cutters into the dough. I was not having fun. And then, the fact that I knew I wasn't having fun made me have even less fun! Then I felt bad. (If you're a guy reading this: Yes, this is what's in a woman's head- it's just a big scary roller coaster of emotions. The fun house isn't much better.) I felt bad for letting everything bother me and keep me from enjoying this time with my kids. So, I just apologized to them.

I didn't know if they would get it or not. I just said I was sorry if I had been short with them and for acting annoyed and tired and just plain not fun.

Well, you know how kids are so honest; my girl claimed that I hadn't been short with them. My boy agreed. They thought I had been having fun and weren’t frustrated by me at all. They even told me they loved me. You know I felt better after that! I love how honest kids are sometimes. It’s usually funny because they have no filter and if it came from anyone else it would be an insult, but this is not always the case. I also love how understanding they really are; and forgiving. I don’t think I would have realized this that day had I not been honest with them about how I was feeling. After I got that off my chest I had fun; subdued, low-key fun, but still memorable and enjoyable fun.

How can a person not have fun with this many sprinkles on your cookie? It’s impossible!

# 0028: A Sense of Humor

I love seeing my kids have a sense of humor. From the first time they laugh at a silly face to the first time they do something over and over again just to make you laugh.

I love to see a sense of humor come out in their little personalities. When they are little babies laughing you just gotta ask, "how do they know that's funny?" And when they get big enough to notice you laugh or a sibling laugh at something they did and they repeat what made you laugh in the first place over and over again to the point that you are both cracking up.

I love to see them come up with they're own funny things to do.
I've had our daughter folding our socks for a year or so now. It's a great sorting/ matching activity as well as a simple enough and productive job (just like putting the silverware away). She did really well with it at first, but lately she's gotten "creative" with her task. My husband pulled a pair of his socks apart the other day. One was ankle length, one was crew cut. He looked at our daughter and she just smiled this coy little smile. I reminded her the other day whe she was folding ot pay attention to what she was doing because blah blah blah blah blah blah (I recounted the story about her dad's mismatched socks). She just grinned and told me that sometime she likes to "play tricks" on her dad. Well, I can't argue with that. That's funny! I'm so proud! She gets it.

Not the case at our house... lol

# 0027: Breast Feeding

Don't we all have kind of a love/ hate relationship with breast feeding? When it comes right gown to it I love it, but there have been days when I just kind of hate it. For me those days took place in the summer of 2011 due to a yeast infection in both breasts. I wouldn't wish that on anybody! 
There are painful experiences that sometimes go along with this labor of love. There are some annoyances and some inconveniences. But the good outweighs the bad doesn't it? We've all been through the classes and we all know the many, proven benefits of it (some they tell us are life long). We can see for ourselves the immediate blessings of saving money not buying formula or the baby weight melting off. Some of us really enjoy the sweet, quiet time with our very appreciative babies. The lactation consultants preach the necessity of its immunity giving qualities. They touch on the bonding aspect briefly, of course because nobody wants to push the idea that bonding with your child could ever be more important than- well anything- Bonding with family is hardly a must, let alone worth it! *sarcasm* 
Yes, I def believe breastfeeding is the way to go. I'll encourage anybody to breastfeed. Just try it for the first 2-3 months. It gets better and easier. But if you try and it just doesn't work for you after awhile- it's okay. It's really okay.
Maybe you got sick and dried up. Maybe it was too darn painful, maybe you just messed up somewhere along the way, or heck, maybe you just don't like it. It's okay. Whatever happened or didn't happen- it's okay. Breastfeeding does not make or break you as a mom. It's not the end all, be all. I know when you're just a few months in, it seems like breastfeeding is what makes you a mom, your ticket to mother of the year, the cornerstone of your relationship with your baby, but the truth is there is more to being a mom than feeding one end and wiping the other. I know it doesn't seem that way those first few months because that's about all you're doing, but the day that they do both of those things by themselves comes quicker than you know. This world of caring for an infant only lasts a few short months. Your beautiful face, angelic voice and warm hugs are what that little baby will take with him as he moves into toddler- hood and beyond. You bond with your baby just by taking care of your baby's everyday needs. That little baby sees you as the one who meets its every need all day and he or she doesn't care how it' done. I take that back- they would prefer their needs being met with a smile, and maybe throw in a song, too. 
Moral of the story: yes, I love breastfeeding my babies and encourage everyone to at least try it with theirs, but Fact: there is more to being a good mom than breastfeeding.

Please don't be discouraged about breastfeeding. It's worth learning everything you can about it. It's worth suffering through at times. It's worth the inconvenience. It's worth the extra mile. But it's not worth feeling down and depressed about. There is so much more to do for your baby! We have so much more access to so much information and support today than they had 25 years ago. Take advantage of the classes (sometimes they are free) and all the books out there. But don't be hard on yourself if it doesn't work out. Breastfeeding is not a free pass to great-mom super stardom and not-breastfeeding is not a sealing of your fate to a doomed motherhood. Don't those two things sound ridiculous in the context of breastfeeding? There's so much more to being a mom. So. Much. More.
Well, how's that for a pep-talk? I didn't even get out what all I love about breastfeeding. I still have another 4,974 posts to go!

Here's a book about breastfeeding I thought was really good: The Nursing Mother's Companion

# 0026: Mondays

I love Mondays! I really do! For right now anyway. Monday is laundry day at our house, catch-up-day, clean-up-day, put-things-away-day, get-ready-for-the-week-day, recover-from-the-weekend-day.
We are not in a hurry on Monday. We RARELY leave the house on Monday. People take extra long naps on Monday.
What's not to love about Monday? The house gets put back together, things get cleaned up, "reorganized" and "planned" for (light on the organized and planned).
I'm sure I would feel differently about Monday if I had somewhere I had to be... like next year, when I take the big girl to school. But for now, we're making menus in our pajamas and only going as far as our mailbox.
Yep, it takes me a whole day to get ready for six more. Simple.

Now I've got the days of the week song in my head (to the tune of The Adams Family theme): Days of the week (snap, snap). Days of the week (snap, snap). Days of the week. Days of the week. Days of the week (snap, snap). There's Sunday and there's Monday. There's Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. There's Friday and there's Saturday. Then we start again! Days of the week (snap, snap). Days of the week (snap, snap). Days of the week. Days of the week. Days of the week (snap, snap). 

# 0025: Little Excuses

This post may come back to bite me one day...
Does anybody else use their kids as excuses? This girl does! ("Oh, kids are sick- we can't go." "Shoot! Kids are too tired. We'll just stay here." "What? Can't hear you! Kids are too loud and outta control today!")
Most people figure out this goldmine of excuses early on in pregnancy and master it within the first trimester. The excuses during pregnancy are as many as there are stars in the sky! You've got forgetfulness, tiredness, foggy headedness, all sorts of pains and discomforts and basically anything you do wrong you can trace back to the baby inside you. It's really nice to have such an adorable little scapegoat that no one can be mad at. Even when the guilty party arrives, you've still got pregnancy hormones! Thank goodness, because here's my opportunity to blame all of my grammatical mistakes in this blog on lingering pregnancy hormones. Sorry!
But seriously, there is some truth to that "Pregnancy Brain" stuff.

Kids make great excuses to get you out of things. I'm not saying that's the only reason to have them, I'm just saying it's reason # 0025.

# 0024: Cleaning Grout

My sister told me about a grout cleaning recipe she found on Pinterest. I mean, we talk about other, way cooler things usually... really, really cool things... usually...

Anyway, since I own grout now, I thought I'd try it.
I tried it. I was down on my hands and knees scrubbing the grout in between the tiles on the kitchen floor. It wasn't too long before my son joined me with the extra rag I had laying on the floor. He knew just what to do. He really concentrated and wouldn't look up from his work. We scrubbed and scrubbed all around the kitchen. Then, his sister joined us. So, I got a rag for her. We scrubbed and scrubbed that grout. I don't know why this held any interest to them at all. Wait- I don't know why it held any interest for me in the first place.
There's not much to this story, but I like cleaning grout now. I don't do it very often, but I always think of those two little grout cleaners who helped me that day. I love how they joined in with whatever I was doing. It didn't matter what it was; we were together and it makes me smile to picture the three of us crawling around on the kitchen floor with our grout scrubbing rags (oh! and I was 40 weeks pregnant at the time- a little funnier).

It kind of makes me think of this article: http://powerofmoms.com/2010/04/whats-the-point-of-housework/.

Oh, and that grout cleaning recipe is:
• 7 cups of water
• 1/2 cup of baking soda
• 1/3 cup of lemon juice
• 1/4 cup of vinegar

# 0024: Little Teachers

One day, the big kids and I were outside and I sent them to get the mail. Our mailbox is across the street from our house. By street, I mean gravel road that is maybe 10 feet wide. It's a ways from our house for a little kid, but I can still it from our front porch, so I know they feel big heading out there by themselves. It gives them a little more confidence doing something all by themselves and some practice looking both ways (even though there is NEVER anything coming either direction).

Okay so, one day, the big kids and I were outside and I sent them to get the mail. On the way, the girl stopped and looked down. Then, she had her brother stop and look down. She pointed to an ant hill. She bent down to tell him all about it. He squatted down for a closer look. There were lots of "OOOOOHS!!!!" from my little boy and my little teacher continued with lots of pointing here and there.

I don't remember when exactly, but I do know that she and I had had a discussion about ant hills once (basically just that those are ant hills, ants build them, they live there). I love that she saw an opportunity to teach, stopped what they were doing and felt confident enough to share this information all by herself with her brother. I also love that her brother was interested in what she had to say and payed attention to his sister. I know it's just a little thing, but it's proof that they pay attention to what we take time to teach them (most of the time). It proves that those little, sometimes forgettable moments matter. I really don't think that info about the ant hill is changing any one's life, but it's the time that was spent on that info that will add up.

And now for the ant to parenthood comparison: Ants carry what seems like a little to us but, actually weighs more than them. Parents do what might look like a little and simple job to some, but actually adds up to be so much more. BOOM!

I love being able to take to take about little things like ant hills and I love seeing that time spent come back around proving that it matters.

"You just don't luck into things as much as you'd like to think you do. You build step by step, whether it's friendships or opportunities." ~Barbara Bush

# 0023: The "Less Good" Times

Wow- Sorry I haven't blogged in over a month! We've been really side-tracked (to say the least) with Christmas, sickness, birthdays, and hospital stays. Yes, hospital stays! No fun! But Christmas and birthdays- those were fun! Then we got sick. And for people who never get sick we saw a lot of doctors and bought a lot of medicine!
It is hard to find much to be happy about when you're not feeling well... (at any age) and really what is there to love about your family taking turns being sick, staying in a hospital, being separated from each other and, my daughter's biggest concern, "missing out on all the fun"?

Being Thankful
There's alot to be thankful for in the "less good" times. For example, the reason I'm calling them "less good" times; which is because it could always be worse. Our problems this past month were not life threatening or too terribly scary (I believe prayer helped with any fear we had) or really just not as bad as what some people are going through (here are some I've been following on facepage: Tripp Halstead Updates and Bringing Home the Browns. Their stories would seriously break your heart). I know it sounds cliche, but realizing that it could be worse is enough to give me some perspective and that's why I have to call times like these "less good" because as long as you can find some good in them, then they're not truly "bad". ~End of Pollyanna rant.~

Finding Fun in like Everything
So, once I put things into perspective that life really isn't that bad then I can start looking for the good; i.e. what I love about this situation; i.e. what I'm going to blag about- ha ha.
On the way to urgent care, my daughter, through great big crocodile tears expressed sorrow over "missing all the fun". She really cared more about going to church , her cousin's birthday party and shopping then taking care of herself. I guess we could have let her go to all these things in the shape she was in, but it really would not have been a good idea. Short lesson for me: kids are all about fun!... in all kinds of weather... at any time... whatever they look like, feel like... at the expense of pretty much anything; sleep, eats, whatever. Now, there is some different perspective!
Life is not hard. Life is not worrisome. Life is fun! After she got out of the hospital everyone asked her if she was bored in there and commented about it being no fun. She told them "it was fun" and that she "got a lot of artwork done". Of course, it didn't hurt that she was getting balloons, treats, presents and surprises like crazy. I love how kids can be so care-free and light-hearted that they find fun in pretty much everything! I love that! I love that! I love that!
I could probably start another blog with every entry consisting of ways kids make dull things fun everyday.

Being There
Yes, you could have guessed it: BEING THERE! Being there is 5,001 Reasons I Love Being A Mom's go-to reason for anything and everything. I am glad I got to be there when I was there, because guess what! I didn't always get to be there. When they put my little 5 year old baby under and wheeled her back for surgery- I wasn't there. Because I'm nursing our 3 month old baby boy I couldn't spend the night with her in the hospital room. Because our 2 year old throw up all over the kitchen floor one morning I wasn't there the day they released her. I was there through the days and she was in good hands with her dad at night and all day till he brought her home to us. So, I know even more the importance of being there. How do you show love and support without being there? Phone calls, flowers, Facetime, presents? Those things are not enough when it's your own child. I love being right there.

Being Missed
I might end up writing a another post about this someday, but for now we'll throw it in on this one. Our little boy missed us! And we missed him! He stayed with his grandparents (the lifesavers) while the rest of us were in the hospital. Our family was almost all together, but not quite. Sitting in the hospital bed our daughter wanted to call her brother. They "talked" for a minute and she invited him up to watch a "show" with her. Apparently, he had been acting kind of down before the phone call and afterwards had really perked up. I'm sure his face lit up at the mention of a "show". I know he had fun with is grandma and grandpa, but I'm glad he cared enough to miss his brother and his sister and his mom and dad. I love that my kids can have fun anywhere they go. I love that we have fantastic family and friends that love our kids, but I also love being missed.

I can't say 2013 has started out with a bang exactly, maybe a sneeze, but I do hope to continue the trend of finding fun in everything, being there, and building bonds in our family through good times and less good times.