Odds and ends

These are a few of my favorite photographs .

A summary of our August so far.

Mommy needs a break.....

I've been feeling a little overwhelmed lately. I don't understand why. (Insert sarcasm here). I thought that maybe a weekend away without the kids and with my husband would help. As soon as we came home, I still felt stressed.

My friend approached me with an idea. She suggested that we leave the husbands at home and take the kids to the beach for a few days. The idea appealed to me. My camera was stolen in the beginning of July, and all of our family beach trip pictures were on that camera. This could be a way to get some new beach pictures of the kids before the summer ends. The other part of me thought this...... No husbands, one hotel room and three children that are five years old and younger. This could be a bad idea.

Yes there were moments that were stressful, and loud. Very loud. A four hour car ride full of "Are we there yet?", "How much longer?" and the classic, "I have to go potty!". Then there was the battle of getting the little buggers to go to sleep at night. The bigger challenge was just keeping them in their beds, and keeping them quiet.


But I was wrong, it was refreshing. All of this time I thought that I needed time away from my kids to feel better and recharged. What I really needed was time away with my kids. It was wonderful. It was so nice to spend time with them without having to worry about taking care of the animals, cleaning the house or making dinner.

I was looking at things the wrong way. My kids reminded me of this. It's not the kids alone that make me feel so overwhelmed and in over my head.

It's life and all of it's demands. But when you are sitting at the beach, all of this is forgotten. It no longer exists. We lived in the moment, and every moment was great. Well, most moments were great.


Peace and love........

Smile, laugh and just take a look around.

The world must seem so big and endless for a toddler.

Can you imagine being that small and experienceing life while not completely understanding

everything and how things work?

The roles can be reversed. Children seem to experience happiness and sillyness
without even having to try. Adults should learn how to do that
again. It's not as easy for us big people. Could we get away with stuffing a bunch of food in our cheeks, looking like a chipmunk. Yeah, probably but we wouldn't look as cute doing it.

Children need us to learn, grow and develop; but we need children to stay grounded.
Us adults have trouble finding time in our busy schedules to actually
enjoy our life. We are so busy that we don't notice the little things in life that
are the most important.

The days of hide and seek and playing pretend were long gone for me.

Now that I am a parent I have an excuse to play hide and seek

and pretend. I miss those days when summer starts and school ends. Those days were great.

I always thought that they were gone. Now I get to do it all over again

with my kids.

Remember to smile, to laugh and just take a look around. If you really look at the things around you, you will see how wonderful and beautiful the world really is. When you notice your little one, stareing at a bug or a flower in amazement, just look. Everything is so new to them. We've seen that thing thousands of times, so we don't really look anymore. But if you really,really look, you will see how amazing this world really is.

Peace and love.........

A few of my favorite things....

The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and the flowers are blooming. The smell of fresh cut grass is in the air and the sounds of the neighborhood children are back again.

The balancing act continues. Trying to keep caught up on keeping our business running. Taking the kids to dance, gymnastics and play dates. I feel like I am behind on housework and laundry. Pediatrician appointments, yard work and keeping the house maintained and in order. And in the mix it seems like someone is always sick lately, whether it is human or animal.

I think back to before kids. It was so nice to sleep in. We always had all of the time in the world to do anything that we wanted, whenever we wanted. We could go out for drinks or for dinner, or even leave for the weekend without hesitation.

Sometimes I feel like there isn't enough time in the day. They go by so fast. At the end of the day I wonder if I played with the kids enough. Did I give the dogs enough attention today? Did I give my husband enough attention today? It is so hard balancing everything. It seems stressful and chaotic doesn't it? It is stressful and chaotic, oh and loud. Did I mention how loud it is?

But wait.......did I mention that I have never been happier? Did I mention that these loud and crazy kids of mine are the funniest people I have ever known in my life. I think I forgot to mention that these two beautiful people that have only been on this earth for 4 and 2 years are already amazing people who bring nothing but joy and love to this world. These kids see the beautiful in the ugly, and see the fun in the boring. These two kids have more personality and kindness then most adults that I know.

It is so worth giving up a 10 hour sleep for kids. It is so worth being tied down and having to find a baby sitter to go out for an evening or away for a weekend. And if we can't find a sitter, then we will just take the kids with us. Life would be boring without the chaos and loudness! And who needs privacy anymore!! I used to be easily embarrassed, now after what my kids say and do to me in public, hardly anything is embarrassing to me anymore. I have found that there are more important things to do other than housework. I can sacrifice a little more sleep and do housework and business work when the kids are sleeping. Who needs complete organization anyways! It's just not me. I am still me, I am still fun, I still have fun. I just have added more fun to my life. These little people that have taken over my life have made my life a little more interesting.

Peace and love......

Jaylee turns 4!

Wow. On March 19th my baby girl turned 4 years old!

It really feels like yesterday that she was a newborn baby. In the fall she will start going to school. Every year seems to come and go faster then the last. How do you slow down time again??

I am so lucky to have my little family. I have a good husband and two wonderful kids. I really can't complain. Lately life is chaotic and loud. So so so loud! I can't seem to find that magic remote control with that mute button. My house is always messy and I am constantly wiping off dirty hands, faces and butts. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

She amazes me, the things that she knows already. She is so smart. I love seeing her point of view with things. She only sees the good in this world. She never sees the bad. When she does experience the bad in the world, she just doesn't understand.
If more people could view the world the way that a child does I am convinced that this world would be a better place. No one would be judged by the color of their skin, or the shape of their body. No one would be judged by their profession or their choice of religion.

And the world would be much more fun and interesting to live in.

My children remind me on a daily basis to see the positive before the negative in everything.

When Jaylee grows up I will miss moments like this, when I find her fast asleep on the top of her toy shelf. She threw down most of her stuffed animals, then she brought up her sleeping bag and pillow and fell fast asleep. Life would be so dull without having Jaylee and Marshall around.

Peace and Love.......