Conviction.

   When I wake up in the morning, typically before anyone else, I start coffee. After coffee is started, I like to enjoy quiet time. And by "quiet time" I mean check Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or other social media sites such as that. Sometimes online news articles. Pray. I sometimes answer emails related to our businesses, but I preferably wait until after the caffeine sets in.

   Anyway, today, I was reading a friends post about school being open, not closed like yesterday or something like that. Somewhere along the line, someone took a conversation and progressed to the point of accusing a city worker driving a snow plow of PURPOSELY plowing in a disabled veteran. Now, I take issue to this on a couple different levels. A: As someone who has limited, but at least SOME knowledge about city endeavors, I know full well that city workers don't know who lives at every single address they drive that plow by. Thats completely asinine. As if they have a map of disabled Veterans (or disabled or handicapped people in general,) and drive around trying to plow them in. For giggles.  And B: It bothers me as a decent human being. Because what that person is really saying is that he sees someone struggling, knows that they have a need, but then sits back and points fingers and says "look this guy needs help, no ones helping, its the city's fault. Someone needs to help this person out. Its someones fault." Anyone else see a problem here?? Notice anything about this way of thinking?? 

   You know when you see a need that needs met, and it hurts you, makes you sad, pulls at your heart? Its conviction. Its your mind saying, you need to do something about this. Don't just sit back and loudly announce someone needs help. Thats so silly. Help them yourself! 

An example: 
When you see your elderly neighbor struggle to get her garbage can out to the road, do you go inside on Facebook and say "Oh boy, I had to watch my poor neighbor drag her 60 pounds of trash to the road this morning, she fell and I thought her hip was probably broke. She finally made it back, but it was hard to watch. I can't believe there isn't someone out there to help that poor old lady! Something has to be done to help her!" !?! DING DING DING that person is all of us, the village they say it takes to raise up children and support one another. That person to help was you. And you didn't. You don't get to blame anyone else. (To be fair, there are many times that a person simply CANT manage to come to someone's aid, whether physical or financial. Thats not really this point of this post.) This post is about people who are in a position where they saw a need, could have helped, but instead blamed and complained. Which, last time I checked, never solved anything anyway. If you see a struggle and don't/won't help, then keep your mouth shut. 

Or, If you see a woman with 2 rowdy kids and a screaming baby struggling to load up the conveyer belt at the grocery store, why not ask if she minds if you help her unload her cart to help her out? Probably more helpful than huffing and puffing behind her because its taking so long, or tweeting about how women shouldn't bring their screaming brats in public. See where Im going with this? Remember that Ghandi quote we've all posted when we were feeling all inspirational before about being the change you want to see in the world? Well, maybe try acting on that once in a while. And if you can't or don't want to, no problem. You do you. I won't judge you. But if you don't help and sit on the side and gripe, I WILL judge you. Big time. 

Mommy. 

Mommy Bullying

This post is inspired by some really negative posts and articles I have read lately. Its my goal to keep THIS post positive. :)  I like Facebook for a quick way to access friends, family and people in the community, and typically I find it convenient and helpful. But, lately, there have been some mean-spirited posts & articles that have really irked me. I mean, under my skin in a big way!

Now, let me start off by saying that I call myself a stay-at-home mom (SAHM so i don't have to keep writing that out). I also help my husband with his business sometimes, but in large part I do that from home, or am able to take my kids with me when I do help. Im not the type to get my panties in a bunch because someone insults SAHM's,  nor do I agree when SAHM's imply that its really the HARDEST job there is and working moms have it easy. Ive done both, and they are both hard.  I realize some people just don't have the ability to walk in another's shoes, so they truly have no idea what someone else might deal with each day, whether they work, stay at home, or a little of both.

A few days ago I read a post from a woman cutting another SAHM down by saying 'We don't care if you cooked dinner, cleaned your house, worked out, finished the laundry! trust me no one is impressed. Thats your job." This is a pet peeve of mine. If you have to point out someone else's flaws or cut someone else down to make yourself feel better or more important, then you need some self-examination. Take the negative energy you are throwing towards others, and make your own more positive. How about being happy for her?! She must have felt proud of those accomplishments and put them out there for her friends and family to see! Does making fun of her make YOU feel better? If so, that makes me sad. Because it shouldn't. Instead, why not try cheering on your fellow moms. Be on their side, be on their team. I promise, it will make you feel better than trying to shame them. This lady that wrote the post was also blessed enough to stay at home with her kids, and maybe she's a real Martha Stewart, and does those things every day, and good for her! That is SUPER impressive. But ya know what?? Not everyone is. Maybe for her, that was a great deal of hard work and she wanted a little praise.  God knows we have enough people who think we are worthless slobs who snack and watch TV all day. 

Today, I did clean my kitchen for 3 freaking hours, it looks amazing. I baked chocolate chip banana nut muffins, played with my little guy and put away a ton of laundry, now while I get him down for a nap, I am jotting this blog. And I don't mind telling you, I am quite pleased with myself. Yesterday, however, was a different story ... I lounged with Brandtley, read part of a book,  looked at Pinterest for way too long, napped a few minutes on the couch... and I 'cooked' Taco Bell for supper and went to bed with a sink full of dishes. It didn't bother me in the slightest to have little to show for the day. You know why? Because, not all my days are filled with productivity, and not all of them are filled with down-time. Maybe your days are always busy, maybe your sister's or neighbors are mostly lazy... that's just life. We are all the same, yet different all at once.  

If I could have you take something away from all this rambling, it's this: lets try to spend more time building each other up and encouraging each other and less time being critical and judge-y (if that's a word.) I have been guilty of this so many times, but I know it wasn't fair. I know others have judged me, and that wasn't fair either. 

We are all walking our own path in life, lets not mommy-bully each other. No one likes a bully. And more importantly, lets get off our high-horses and be nice or keep our traps shut. 

Spread some Love today!

Mommy

Dusting the blog off.

Its been way, way too long since I've blogged. When the weather is nice, we try to stay active. But that is coming to an end. Its 29 degrees right now, which means I stay INSIDE the largest part of the day, when I'm not running the mommy shuttle to and from school and extra curricular activities. Today, Im on a cleaning spree. Laundry is going, dishes done, cleared all the counters, now going to mop. This afternoon, I will tackle more laundry, bedrooms and bathrooms. Cold weather is only good for one thing: cleaning and cooking.  Im off to mop. *Cue superhero music.

:) ill write soon, promise.

-Mommy

Halloween 2014 (that rhymes)

A few Pictures from Halloween 2014. We had a Southern Bell, a Monarch Butterfly, and a Ninja Turtle. It was unseasonably cold that evening. 39 degrees. I believe. The weather did shorten our night, but didn't put a damper on the fun. We came back home, ordered a pizza, put on our pj;'s, ate candy, and watched Night of the Living Dead. It was amazing. (Not the movie, though, it was terrible.) 

Bubby's 2nd Birthday

A few snaps from Brandtley's 2nd bday :) cannot BELIEVE he's been with us 2 years already!! My little peanut is growing up into a big boy! :) 

whole lotta nothin'

A few pictures taken off my phone from the last couple of weeks. 

First up, we have Sophia beating me at scrabble. I dare you to try & beat her. I mean, with words like 'nootlals' and 'welcum' it can be tough. 

MORE SNOW, yippee!

Our little Brute playing with his trucks. 

Brandon finished his term at the Chairman of the board of the Chamber of Commerce, here he is speaking at the Chamber Annual Dinner. 

One of us before we left for said dinner, photo credit to Sophia.

His eyes are really changing. :) 

baby, its cold outside!

A few pics from our snowy, fun weekend. :) 

North Pole Breakfast

Rainbow Snowflake is back again this year, watching the kids to make sure they are on their best behavior. When she arrived this year, she threw together a breakfast surprise with a few little gifts for the kids to kick off the season.

There have been fancier North Pole Breakfasts' that i have seen, but even this was quite a challenge to pull off. The kids LOVED it, & thats all that mattered. <3 br="" nbsp="">

A day in the life...

If you know me personally, you probably know I adore my children. (Most parents do, im sure. :)) I mean, they are my world. Tiny little parts of my heart and soul, walking around on the Earth. I love them. They are my LIFE. You get it, right?

That being said, sometimes... how do I put this?? They make me want to run away from home. I mean, at about 6 p.m. sometimes I am ready to commit a crime just so i can be locked away in a peaceful jail cell for a little while! I know some of you parents with young children can relate to this. 

Here is a timeline of events that actually happened yesterday. This is a small glimpse into my every day life. Some days go more smoothly, some go much less smoothly. 

6:45 am: Sophia does not like pants. Or tights. Or jeans. She only likes dresses. She does not like socks.      Only sandals. Its 35 degrees outside. I force her to wear an outfit that is weather appropriate. Im mean.

7:00 am: Sophia informs me that i did not use the correct cheese for her lunch yesterday. No swiss, no american, no cheddar. She ONLY like E-Z Cheese. (the finest of the cheese group, right?) Otherwise she will not eat. She will go on a full-on hunger strike and have a belly ache and a terrible day. We do not have EZ cheese, so its just meat. 

7:15  Bella has stolen the key to Sophia's brain and her heart. She is running around the house with the imaginary keys, taunting her with them. Sophia is now having a meltdown because she wants her 'brain key' back. Bella is mean. I make Bella hand Sophia back the keys to her brain or else Ill be forced to take the key from HER brain. She cries. Im mean. 

** after i get the kids to school, i get Brandtley home and let him destroy the place as i try to clean. (like shoveling during a blizzard, right?!) Today he only colored on the wall once, its a good day. i manage to sweep, vacuum, mop kitchen. Squeeze in some laundry, get him down for his nap, more cleaning and laundry. 22 minute run. Couldn't make it 23, too tired. I get baby up from the nap, feed him. He doesn't like what i made & dramatically throws it on the floor. He's mean. I clean up the mess. Time to get the big girls from school. This is where is gets interesting again.***

2 p.m.: pick up Bella from school. She has a headache, a belly ache, a hurt leg and they forgot to feed her lunch again at school. She lies, but i love her anyway. So i take her home before we get Sophia and tend to her ailments. Turns out all she needed was some Pringles and a juice box. 

3 p.m: pick up Sophia. She also has a headache, a stomach ache, someone pushed her and she feels certain both of her legs are broken from the fall. Also it was embarrassing because someone laughed. She never wants to go to school again. 

3:15pm: Sophia begins working on homework. Bella begins annoying her. I begin to wonder if its acceptable to drink wine at 3:15. I resist the urge. I help with homework, pull the baby off the top bunk about 20 times, start supper, pick up the clutter that is already accumulating on the clean surfaces i worked all day on. No big deal. 

4:30 p.m:  Kids are starving again. I catch them snacking. Only an hour till supper, so i yell. Im mean. 

5:30 p.m: Daddy is running late. They are literally going to faint if they don't eat. So i let them. I dont even care at this point. 

6:00 p.m: baby gets a bath. Afterwards he takes off naked, and i cant find him. I ask the girls to help, but they cant be bothered, they are cutting little tiny snow flakes out of paper. It looks like it has ACTUALLY snowed on the floor. I will deal with that in a bit. But, seriously, i cant find the baby! he's underneath a box, hiding. I think he did it on purpose. I wonder if its too early to put him to bed?

6:30 p.m: I put him to bed. I help pick up the snowflakes... when i say help, i mean i do most of it while the girls sort of help. My grumbling and tone is getting increasing less patient by this hour. The kids are exchanging worried looks. They should, I am one more mess away from losing it. Brandon and girls make a Wal-Mart run. I clean while they are gone, and I think i might cry Im so tired. But i dont, today. 

7:30 p.m: The girls are squabbling over the where each individual tree should be placed in the Christmas Village. The dog got moved to wrong side & somehow someone gets scratched and someone got karate chopped in the leg. Sophia's broken legs from school flare up. Bella says no one loves her. It ends with a time-out, tears, and a promise of a spanking to the next child that so much as says a WORD. Me and daddy are both mean. 

8:00 p.m: Its bedtime. Seriously, like right NOW! I make what feels like it has to be the 45th round of drinks of the day, serve drinks to my masters, tuck in, kiss hug... and sneak out. I turn on the t.v. im going to watch a GROWN UP show! Something that isnt on Disney or Nickelodeon. I fall asleep with remote in hand.

8:20 p.m: I jolt awake on couch, Brandon says im snoring so loudly he cant hear the t.v. No matter, he gets a work phone call. Bella is yelling for another drink. She 'cant sleep with a dry mouth.' I get her another drink, re-tuck, hug, kiss.  I am going to watch that show now. I dont even make it past the credits. 

9:30 p.m: Brandon wakes me up. I dont even know where I am. Its time to go to bed.  I will watch that show tomorrow night, its been dvr'd since august. Im sure one of these days ill watch it though. 

Better get some sleep, my alarm goes off at 5:30 am, and we ride this ride again. :) 

***disclaimer. No children were harmed, neglected, un-cherished or unloved during the course of this day. ***

   

a windy day.

Just a few pictures from today. We played outside a lot in the gigantic leaf pile we have. Apparently our yard is a forest. Its terrible for my poor husband who spends hours raking and blowing them, only to have to do it again and again... but its fun for the kids. What's more fun than a big ole pile of leaves!? 

Oh and I have included one random shot i took of Bella and Violet, our great dane. Because its too cute not to.