Mother's Day

Mother's Day 2015 was probably the best yet. I've always ended up working most Mother's Days for one reason or another. It never seemed to be a huge important day in my book. I'd get a flower or a present from the kids, but would be so exhausted after a long weekend of work, that it just felt so blah. This year was an exception to the rule.

First of all, we had such a long winter. Usually we do, and then bam, here's May, bringing the 80 degree weather and the sunshine. Sure it stormed during the day, and I was sweating like a sinner in church most of the day. But really, who could complain. The snow is gone!

The morning started off with the kiddos fighting, but hey, that's nothing new. Off to church we went dressed in our best. First off all, let me say, not one thing was mentioned during our Sunday service about it even being Mother's Day. All of us moms knew, and we wished each other well. But I was annoyed. The service was about something completely different, and honestly, I thought it wouldn't have hurt to give a shout out to the women of the church (with kids or not) for being awesome people. But hey, that's just me. Years past, preachers would preach about the special mothers of the world, how to treat her well, and especially how to honor her. Thank goodness for the sweet women of the church. Each year while our kiddos are small, we are invited to a Mother's Day celebration during the Sunday School hour. They make it so special. We started out singing songs and playing musical instruments. The B.I.B.L.E song has always been a child hood favorite. We sang it while holding our bibles up in the air. Imagine kiddos under five, with their moms in tow, in a small room (that was 80 degrees!) singing at the tops of their lungs to a piano playing in the background. Such a beautiful site. The kids served us a snack of fresh fruit and then retreated to their classrooms to make their moms a card. What a sweet treasure. The kids each got to pick out a flower to give to their moms to plant. I always looked forward to getting those. I think the boys were so stinkin proud to hand me their flowers. They've even made sure to water them!

We had my Mom, Step-Daddio Dave, my sister, and her sweet kiddos over for lunch. Picnic food at it's best. The rain came in as we were literally making our plates outside. What a show. Everyone was running. Food was being covered. Dogs were barking. Kids were crying (because it was going to storm). It was a riot. We came inside to sweat to death and eat our meal. Mom and Dave scooted out with Jenn not close behind. I can't blame them. It was so hot I would have left if I could! I squeezed in some chat time with my best girlfriend Kim while picking up the after math of the toys from the five kids stuck inside. My husband came home from chores finally! We have a Sunday tradition of ice cream at the local store with the kids in their jammies, and because it was so hot, I think it tasted even better.

This year my swag included a beautiful poem from Natalie. It describes me to a T. I just loved it. I need to buy some frames for these things.

Max made this in preschool. I will cherish it always. He thinks I am two years old. Okay, so sometimes I act it! And I weigh 200 pounds. I think he got that from his dad, but that's another story for another day! Bah!

When Travis came home from chores he pulled out this beauty. Our babysitter Sara is just the best. She made this with the kids on Friday afternoon. My heart literally melted that someone took the time to create this with my son. I will cherish that little hand print always. I'm thinking maybe I need to keep purchasing flowers all summer long to keep inside. Hm. There's an idea!

It really was just the best day. Great food, family, flowers, and ice cream. Who could complain? I'm so lucky to be a Mom. These kids make each day worth it! I hope your day was special as well!

Love,

Julie

Jumping On The Band Wagon

January 2015 I sat down, made a list of goals, and tried to put them into action. One HUGE thing on my list was organization. We are a hot mess around here most days. Forgetting the lunches, field trips, permission slips, baby sitter days. I could go on. Working full time, balancing a full time family, and having a husband who works insane hours is down.right.hard. I look at SAHM and jealousy creeps up. If I just had more TIME. If I had one extra day off per week, would I be dropping the ball as much as I am?

One of my work friends bought an EC Life Planner in January. I remember thinking she was insane (love you NS!) But really, who are these people that spend $60 on a planner. Woah Nelly, I don't have that kind of money. So, I bought this cute looking planner from Wal-Mart for $6 and tried to make it work. I tried so hard. I used washi to try to divide the columns. I tried to use different colored ink to plan my days. There was just zero room in this thing to plan anything. I ended up using notebooks and making lists and forgetting all about my planner. It sucked. It wasn't worth the $6 I paid for it in the end, because I stopped using it by February.

Flash forward to April. EC offered all of her life planners 40% off. I could do that. With the $10 referral coupon that made the planner $20, plus the $9.95 shipping. Oy. I purchased that baby and never looked back.

Some how, I jumped on the EC band wagon. I perused her web-site looking for more. I planned. Followed Planners on IG and Facebook. Some days I think I spend more time looking at what other people are planning, rather than spending my time taking care of my own.

But let me say this, it really was life changing. Laugh. How could paper bound together with a metal coil really change your life? Let me count the ways...I could keep track of things. I knew in advance when a meeting was. I knew not only that the kids had games, but where they were and what time and at what field. I wrote every.single important task down, even weeks in advance. I didn't lose permission slip forms or forget that my husband was working late. I knew what we were eating for dinner. I even looked up the weather and wrote that down to plan my kids outfits! Before, I would look at the weather at 5 am and pick out clothes for my kids to wear. I was a jumbled mess. Somehow, in all of this I found a little more balance.

Do I think a $60 planner will change your life? Eh, probably not. But taking the time to plan out your days will. With the precious time we have with our kids, that made all the difference.

Sleep Away Camp

I sent my baby off to camp today.
Let me say, she's not a baby, nor is she the baby of the family. But, sometimes, your kids will always be your baby. She's eight. She's smart. Loves to read, play on youtube, dress up, watch as we call them "garbage shows" on Disney Channel. She loves swimming and riding her bike, along with campfires and marshmallows. Her favorite animal is a horse. It only seemed fitting that she go to a horse camp. So, last summer, as we were gathering to get ready for another year of Awana, it was announced that all students who finished their books would get a full scholarship to a local camp. I pushed her. She pushed herself. Weekly, she practiced scripture, memorizing word for word memorable verses from the Bible. She completed puzzles and rarely missed a night. Not only was the prize of knowing more scripture valuable, but she completed a task that was so hard for so many. Her reward, one full week at a summer camp. Could we have afforded to send her otherwise? Sure. But she earned this. This week, full of friends and new experiences was earned. Hard work pays off and we want our kids to learn that.

Photo taken in May, but still very relevant.

Today, we dropped her off. Throws of people crowding this massive camp, toting bags, pillows, blankets, and sleeping bags. The workers were dressed up in old fashioned garb, greeting kids and parents with a smile. We rushed around, checking her in here and there, paying for things, and having a "health check." It was finally time to see the space she would be for the week. A tiny bunkhouse, with room for ten people and their bags. That was all. It was a dream. I told her as we were rushing around running errands yesterday, that she was so lucky to have as many opportunities as she had. She's given so many wonderful experiences that I as a kid would only dream of. I mean, after all, isn't that what we want for our kids?

So with a tissue and a smile, I'll be praying her through this week. I hope that you do too. We will miss her so, but thank the Lord she's away for a week so her room can get organized. There are toys and clothes to be passed on. There are things that need their own space and with her gone, that will be the project of the week.

For now, I'll be missing her and worrying she has enough underwear and socks. I'm sure I'm crazy, but I'll share our packing fiasco tomorrow.

Some days you just need a day off. Some days the sun needs to shine, but it is so windy you swear Dorothy Gail will be flying by in a house at any moment. Some days you need to just sit, relax, catch up on household tasks and not feel guilty you're not outside in the sunshine. Today was that day. I typically have Thursdays off, but my boss is in desperate need of nurses on random days. She's asked me to switch things up a few weeks and I have to admit it - It's fun! Nothing better than a jam packed weekend, working one day, and having one off. The three ten hour days in a row take their toll eventually and I'm usually quite haggard by Thursday. Then, I end up laying around, tired, and get nothing done at all. Some how I justify that because it's my day off, I deserve it. But inevitably, I kick myself later.

My sister helps out at their church on Tuesday nights, watching kids. Their church is massive. As in gigantic, as in one could get lost easily in that space. My sister invited us to come up sometime and play in the play area. I never thought we'd be able to, because Tuesdays generally don't work for us. When I was growing up there was a place called Crazy Mazy where it was just tubes and slides and you climbed until your hearts were content and your knees were bruised. The play place at this church was just like it, only maybe a little smaller. Huge none the less. I wore a sweater and was sweating before we were halfway up the tubes. It was so much fun! I act like a 13 year old most days, so this was right up my alley.

I planned to go to Target today, but changed my mind in the end. I'm loving some of the products that they offer and we had run out of a lot of things this weekend. My typical grocery hauls occur at Wal-Mart and Aldi. I rarely ever used to go to Target for any reason at all. Now, I'm hooked. Their Archer Farms coffee is my favorite. We are loving on the Annie's pasta, and there is zero selection of that at my Wal-Mart. The clientelle is also a little different and a nice change from Wal-Mart. But hello, the main reason I walk into that store?! The Dollar Spot! Every.single.time, I spend atleast $15 just in that area. I can't help it. Tonight we picked up some sand trucks for $3 a piece. I scored some post-its and flags as well. Now, I just want to sit down with my planner and play!

 Sorry about the glare, but I was so excited to get more of these before they were gone! I already have three packages of the post its, but tonight I found the flags and scooped up a few more pieces. So Fun!

Until Next Time,

Julie

I haven't been blogging for a number of insane reasons...
My parents are divorcing...Need I say more? As an adult or a child, I don't think this process will ever be easy.
A head - on collision with a drunk driver. I'm alive, whole, healthy and the only major scars I have are in my head from the memories, but it surely has been a difficult process.
A brand new baby - He's the joy of my soul...along with the other two. Masen takes up so much of my time I haven't had a lot to spare.
I'm lazy...I've been busy. Really. And I've been too lazy to write.

So it's Valentine's Day. I'll post our home-made valentines to show. Pinterest gave me the ideas, but I came up with the printables on my own! Super proud of myself here.

I'm making Ina Garten's Red Velvet Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, heart shaped bacon, heart shaped chocolate chip pancakes, and fruit dipped in chocolate for dinner.

My Valentines for the kids haven't arrived thanks to the not so on her game school teacher...So I feel bad not having their books at the table as a Valentine Treat. Maybe her teacher will get her stuff in order and they'll be here in time for Easter? Ugh...Book orders that were due in January that still haven't arrived are on my annoying list today!

Until Next Time America...

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day!

I'm currently 5 weeks away from my "due date" and hoping today doesn't turn into a real "Labor Day." We'll be spending the morning cleaning, chopping corn, then off to a picnic, and then home to get ready...You see tomorrow will start the overflow of tears. My son starts preschool and my daughter starts 1st grade. Where does the time go? As for now we're going to enjoy the official last day of summer eating picnic food and laughing with family!

Hope you have a blessed day!

 

Lord, Please Don't Let Me Be A Hoarder

I am a pack rat by and large. I save everything until that fateful day that I can no longer take the stacks and piles and start pitching. It's in my genes. Sort of like being a procrastinator. It's something that I inherited. My Grandma Jane was a pack rat, but a neat one. I remember her neatly cutting open her mail, just to save the envelopes. She'd put papers, soup labels, whatever in those envelopes and they became useful again. I'm not that kind of a pack rat. I just save things, because I cannot bear to throw things away...

Insert Grandma W. She's a blessing by and large to our family. She spoils my kids, loves on them, and is the epitomy of a Grandma. She's wonderful to have around. Lately, in the past few years, her mind is going...slowly deteriorating. She's forgetful and she hoards. I'm talking we're getting to the point of having TLC drop by to film it's getting that bad. But she's a stubborn woman. Stubborn to the core. It's a gene my husband and FIL inherited from her. So when you're shopping with her, and she thinks she needs to buy more, it's really hard to argue with her. She just gets upset. And who fights with an almost 80 year old? Yeah. Not me.

So my SIL and I have been planning a sort of attack on her house the past few weeks. It was decided by and large, because I'm pregnant, and my kids are having birthdays, I would take her shopping for the kids birthdays. A sort of tradition she had started a long time ago, but I decided this year that I wanted to go. While we were gone my SIL would clean her house. The plans were set and we were ready. So, after a long day of errand running yesterday, as I'm making dinner, my SIL calls. "Want to help me start cleaning tonight?" Um, Nope. No, I don't. I really really don't. I'm scared. I went anyway. We left the supper dishes and drove down to Grandmas. When I got there I was amazed. Just floored at what we ended up doing. Out of respect for her I didn't take pictures. But picture counters piled high with boxes of food. Food on the floor in boxes, bags, and cans. There was stuff EVERYWHERE.

We threw away almost 14 bags of rotten outdated - like from 2010 outdated - food. We made a donate pile for a soup kitchen. We took stuff for ourselves. I still feel like we robbed her house. I couldn't sleep last night, because I felt like we just caused some unruly damage to her. She's no longer allowed to cook. People make her dinner. She has frozen meals. But for the most part she eats junk and just keeps buying more. Grandma used to cater. She was an amazing cook. Having that taken away from her due to her mind has been tough on her. So she buys food anyway, hoping she can cook it. Only, she never does. So by me and my SIL taking stuff out of her cupboards that she can't used helped. We cleaned counters, swept floors, and by the time we were done it looked like a new place. But there is still more to do. I have to call her soon to make plans for today. I'm scared. Dreading and praying about this phone call. I don't want her to think we robbed her. We were just trying to help. And in the end, I know she won't miss most of what we threw away. But I still feel awful.

Lord, please don't let me be a hoarder. Ever.