3 Years

Three years ago today was the last day I worked outside the home.  Matthew was 9 months old and our only little person and we had Phlip-Phlop the cat.  We had movers scheduled to come the following day to pack us up and relocate us from Montgomery to Huntsville.  We were beyond excited about the move but I was a little nervous about our new life.  I always felt A LOT of pride in being a great employee, decent financial partner and certainly took a lot of pride in my career.  It felt weird scary to not have a plan.  I am by nature a planner.  I also had serious issues depending on someone else for my financial support, I felt like a mooch and it took me a good year to come to terms with that vulnerability. 

I was never one of those people that envisioned myself staying home with kids.  Really, that is what daycare was for, right?  As much money as I spent on undergraduate and grad school, not earning an income was not even on my radar.  Yet here I am, a stay-at-home mom, a housewife, a chef, a CFO for our family.  And you know what, it is a tough job but I am blessed that they think I am doing a good enough job that they keep letting me do it because I love it, most of the time.  Unsolicited hugs from your babies don't hold a candle to an unexpected financial bonus.  Having a little person want to help you make biscuits beats the hell out of training and retraining someone to do a job they don't really care about.  Watching your children explore their big world is a priceless experience.

I know that this scenario does not work for everyone but I am glad that we were willing and able to make the sacrifices so that we could enjoy this reality for a few years.

So 3 years later:

Matthew is fast approaching his 4th birthday, little brother Kimber is 18 months old, we have added a precious pupster named Muppet to our crew and Phlip-Phlop the cat is still hanging around.  We have settled into a fairly stable routine and our reality is good, even though there are days we all need to be reminded just how good it is.

In a perfect world I will be able to do this for a few more years but I accept the fact that our world is constantly evolving and we have to roll with the punches if we want to survive, so we shall see.

In the meantime, there are clothes to wash, worms to dig, vegetables to harvest, biscuits to make, floors to sweep, boo-boos to kiss, boys to bathe, giggles to hear, flowers to pick, train tracks to build, tears to dry laughs to laugh and so much more.

TRUTH

Dude

My brother Matthew would have celebrated his 30th birthday today.  It is weird to think of him as an adult, he will always be a long lanky goofy kid in my mind.  He is missed by so many.

A few of the things that conjure up images of him.

His love of Elvis and Kramer from Seinfield.
His devotion to Blue Bell ice cream.
His fun loving laid back attitude about everything.
The way he sliced through the water while swimming.
His constant primping when it came to his hair.
His ability to laugh and smile almost constantly.
The totally bodacious surfer beach bum persona that was so HIM.

There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about you little brother.

Tubes

After many months of trying alternative cures and worrying about making the right/wrong decision we bit the bullet this morning and had tubes put in Kimber's ears.  He did great, I blubbered into the waiting area after they took his screaming self from me but within 15 minutes I had that little monkey in my arms again.  He was pissed but holding me VERY TIGHT.  He finally drank some of his milk when we got in the car, after he had asked for it at least 438 times during the morning. 

I hope and pray that this helps us turn a corner sickness-wise.

Oh SH#*!

You are already aware that I am less than perfect.  Recently, that truth was further confirmed.  Matthew phrase of choice these days when something does not go quite as planned is "Oh shit".  I really wish I could blame this one on Will, but I can't.  This is TOTALLY 100% me.

I have thought and thought about how to react and now that I am moving past the busting out laughing phase I have started saying "Awww man" all the while telling him that's what Papa would say (and if Papa is doing it the coolness quotient is WAY up there in his book).

So today, I was listening to him as he knocked over the block tower he was building, he promptly said "Oh shit, awww man" without skipping a beat.  While I didn't bust out laughing, since I am through that phase, I certainly giggled to myself while wondering how exactly to FIX this parenting mishap of mine?

Any ideas?

Mother's Day Reflection

A few ways my life has changed since becoming a mom just a few short years ago:

The time spent readying myself for, well....anything has drastically decreased.
I spend more time on the floor than anywhere else.
My showers are closer to 3 minutes versus 15.
I judge people much less.
My hair is pulled 856321 times a day.
My heart is 1000 times bigger than I ever imagined....so are a few other things.
My reading is relegated to parenting books or cookbooks.
My hair, so much healthier due to the fact it only gets "styled" for special occasions and yes...a few hours our IS a special occasion, even if it is just to the grocery store.
Germs....kinda over my phobia...at least a little.

Colored eggs, a 5K, chocolate bunnies and goggles.

We started Easter weekend on Friday night with our first meal on our new picnic table.  While the salmon and asparagus were on the grill we decorated and smashed dyed some Easter eggs, practiced hunting eggs and played a little ball.

Saturday morning we got out of the house early and my little team came to support me at my first 5K of 2011.  I have done a few races since becoming a mom and I still get a bit emotional at my own little red headed cheering squad!  After the race we headed to the local Botanical Gardens for an egg hunt.  We forgot the camera but the boys both had a great time.  They each got to hunt eggs and did quite well.  We then had a picnic, explored the garden, played frisbee and visited the choo choo before heading home for naps.  After naps we played outside until dark and ate another meal on our picnic table.

Sunday morning, a truly GLORIOUS day.  Matthew was the first one up and when I walked in the living room he was already halfway through his little chocolate bunny.  They both enjoyed their baskets of treats and a little breakfast before we headed to church to celebrate HIS RESURRECTION.  After an excellent service, a change of clothes and a thick coating of sunscreen back outside we went to enjoy the gorgeous day.  We trimmed some trees, weeded flowerbeds, relocated the playhouse, gave wheelbarrow rides, moved lots of mulch and enjoyed the latest Easter dinner ever!!

We are truly blessed by our lord EVERY SINGLE DAY.

And I quote....again...

Tonight while trying to settle the boys down we were talking about our day.  Matthew was asking me where Papa was and I explained that he was reading in the living room. He then told me that "Papa is coloring in books, we not color in books Mama, we color on paper."  He was technically correct, Willie was highlighting some things in the book he was reading. 

Here I was thinking that watching our language was the biggest hurdle but man, nothing gets by these little people.  I am also VERY ADAMANT about us not coloring in books, guess I am going to have to hide the highlighters from Papa?

Tornado Marathon

On the 27th of April, our community was struck by a string of tornadoes that left a huge path of destruction across the area.  Thankfully our home was spared but many we not so lucky.  Many power lines and substations were completely obliterated so we were without power for 5 days.  Thankfully, we are campers and stockpilers, we had cooking capabilities, plenty of propane and an abundance of food.   We lucked into a couple of defunct generators a year or so ago that W used to create one functioning one so we were able to keep both fridges and both deep freezers running as well as charge phones, laptops and gaming toys for ourselves as well as the neighbors.

A few observations I made during our house-camping adventure.

1) Little boys LOVE flashlights and are under the impression that it being dark is not a prerequisite for their use.
2) While I still don't think I am high maintenance, I do LOVE my microwave, hot water heater and dishwasher.  I am not sure love is a strong enough word but lust seems silly when talking about appliances.
3) We thoroughly enjoyed our 5 whole days together, I am truly blessed by all the boys that are in my life.
4)  4 nights might be too long to go between baths.
5)  I need to start stocking up on batteries.
6)  Our new picnic table is the perfect size....for us and 2 other families.

Rockstar

A conversation with Matthew yesterday.

Me: " Way to go Matt, you are a rockstar."

Matt: "No Mama, you are a rockstar."

A few minutes later.....

Matt: "Mama, you can't be a rockstar, you are a Mama."

Yeah well, I used to be a rockstar!