A Little Sunday Action

I don't post very often about our Sunday activities.  So here is a little Sunday action.

 
One fight started on this day because the little girl in the photo, who rigged this up all by herself without my knowledge (we had watched The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for the first time the night before), was ordering everyone else around like servants and wouldn't share the "throne."

The kids love to sleep all-in-one-room on the weekends.  This boy lugged his whole big, heavy mattress into the girls room, where I found him, asleep (this photo taken the next day).

On Sunday we go to church, afterward we eat a very simple something prepared by me or a much nicer something prepared by my husband (like the stuff pictured at top) (I see Sunday as my day off-- even though I'm still very much on duty with some things, so if he wants a nice dinner, he has learned that he needs to make it himself).  Sometimes I take a nap, though that can be kind of a joke at times.  We usually watch a religious or a tame family movie like the Sound of Music.  The kids play together.  Sometimes in a little herd.  Sometimes they fight.  But they mostly work it out and are pretty good little buddies.  Sometimes we work on Scouts or responsibilities connected to church.  Our house goes to pot.  Sometimes it takes me a couple of days or more to recover.  :)  In the summer we sometimes go for a walk or a bike ride or a drive or visit family or friends.  We don't work in the yard or do housework on this day, nor do we go to basketball games or social activities or even grocery shop like we would on a normal day.  It might sound a bit boring, but it is a really nice break, a nice refresher.  A well-filler, I guess you could call it.  :)  By the time Monday rolls around, I'm so ready to clean and get back to normal.  It's sort of a slow, easy day, as long as you don't count crowd control at church-- that is a work out.  :)

On this particular day, my son came downstairs after bedtime, holding a freshly pulled tooth, my oldest daughter was already out of bed, playing with the baby-- he would cling to her leg, call her name, or hold her hand each time she tried to go to bed.  They were out of bed, but I realized--  man I'm thankful I have teeth to gather and little arms to unravel around laughing sister legs and a little boy in tight pj's whose little round belly makes me happy for babies.  I have a really good life.  And lazy Sundays can sometimes bring all of that into focus.

How are your Sundays?  Slow or fast-paced?  Do you like to make a fancy Sunday dinner or take the day off?

Hodgepodge Weekend

Here is a patchwork of random photos from our weekend.  One week before this, I had been so sick and miserable and had a lot to do as part of my new responsibilities with our local children's group.  I was operating in survival mode on just two hours sleep one night and four the next, with no naps in between, thanks to a nasty cough and sinus infection.  So this weekend seemed heavenly!  My husband and I missed my cousin's wedding because of some crazy weather, but it also meant that an opportunity opened up for us to attend his fancy work party, held in the ballroom of my favorite hotel of all time.  I've had a dress for years now (I wore it the night we got engaged, if that tells you something...speaking of fashion, check out this cute swimming suit, I'm in love I tell you) that I've wanted an opportunity to wear to something!  And I finally got a chance. Even if it is probably a little old-fashioned by now.   And even if I could. Not. Zip it up.

And, miracle of miracles, we didn't take the baby!  He stayed with a babysitter -- whom my son announced received "5 stars" --when we got home. :)

 I love watching the older siblings love on the little ones.  This boy is especially cute with little ones!  Lets hope he didn't hear me say that-- he is starting to reject words like "cute."

We got a TON of snow.  But I love how the world looks after a fresh snow.  Especially the way the snow clings in delicate lacy white clusters to all the branches of the trees.

On Sunday night, a few of the kids filled my tub so full it was like a swimming pool.  In honor of the occasion they wore their suits, broke out the goggles, and left swimming pool-like trails of water in my bathroom.  On the other side of the room, the two who were not "swimming" were having a pillow fight.  Only one of the pillow fighters was pretending to be a pony.

 Half church and half to bed.

 And we practiced some spelling bee words.

 The baby tub I just can't bring myself to put into storage in our basement.

 I heard a pitter-patter of feet late one night.  After a few minutes I went to check on those little feet and found this.  Snuggled up under the new blanket I made.  Thanks to some surprise help from my sister, my house was actually clean!  It was so nice!  On Saturday I was able to go to the basement and finish some projects and put away the sewing machine after a few weeks of not being able to get to it.

 Project number one is the pillow case in black.  Not as hard as I thought!  Project number two-- the blanket.

Thanks for being patient with my Photoshop ADD today. :)

What a great weekend.  

Month 7 Well Filling

This month my personal goals are mostly  not going too well (drinking more water is one of them).  But one thing is. 

A little background:  a few years ago my dad introduced me to a list on Brigham Young University's website (my alma mater, wahoo).  Within the Honors program, there is something called the Great Works List (here).  Since then I have periodically used it to find books or art in order to educate myself in little small ways while still being a stay-at-home mom.  I would love to get more education some day; in the short run these make me feel like I am still challenging myself without taking too much time away from my kids.  One favorite that I have been exposed to over the last few years, through a smart friend, is Dickens.  David Copperfield has become a favorite, and Esther Summerson of Bleak House made it onto our "hero" wall even though she is a fictional character.

I have been in a little rut, though, reading the same types of things for a while (and in general my reading slowed way down when I started blogging).  So I challenged myself to go way outside my comfort zone and pick an author or title I'd never heard of (there are quite a few to choose from on this list!).  I chose Soren Kierkegaard's On Fear and Trembling (I even downloaded it free to my phone).  It is not huge, and I'm probably only one third of the way through it, but it has delivered precisely what I wanted-- exposure to a "great" work and new ideas.  And some challenge.  The concepts are quite beautiful.

Time is so precious, and I want things that inspire me to be better.  How do you choose your reading materials?  What is it that fills your tank from an intellectual perspective?  I feel I am a better mother when I am also trying to improve myself each day and it gives me tools with which to teach them, too.

The Effect of Stress on Parents and Kids - Finding a Safety Valve

Today I took a break from the blood-pressure raising environment of Facebook and took my little ones to the park.  :)  The weather here has been gorgeous, and I have wanted to soak it up as long as I possibly can!  We drove a bit to a different park than we normally visit, which sits between a brick oven pizza place and a fountain.  The air was perfect, the sun warm on our faces and arms and backs.  Tinny music played from a distant radio, the clunk-clunk sounds of builders echoed off nearby buidings, and the sun filtered through gold and brown leaves just-hanging delicately to half- bare trees.  It smelled of warmed rubber and pizza crust toasted brick brown.  (I was feeling really thankful for the free smells) 

(this tree picture is from a different day.  I am just loving the lingering beauty in my part of the woods!)

The baby could hardly contain his excitement, running and giggling and running and giggling and running and....giggling.  Cute little three year-old was more measured and deliberate about where she chose to spend her time, but no less happy.  I enjoyed following their bliss, lifting little ones down from stranded high places or climbing through tunnels or going down the slide with our arms in the air (the baby especially love to watch me do this).  Is it just me, or is acting like a kid again so much fun sometimes?  Letting those inhibitions free and just...jumping.  When was the last time you...jumped?  Well, I don't really jump very often.  I haven't read Gretchen Rubin's new book (Happier at Home), though I mean to, but I know that was one of her resolutions just from reading the synopsis.  Today I tried it out a little.  It made me happy.  How can you feel down when you jump?

So I've been thinking about something.  I've been reading Simplicity Parenting.  I'm not very far into it yet.  But I have been learning about stress and what it does to us.  When kids are subjected to stress for a long period of time, all sorts of negative things happen.  They suffer from more anxiety, perform more poorly on tests, and act out or behave more aggressively, showing less empathy overall.  They also have less impulse control.  They can even get a form of PTSD (I can't remember the clinical term in kids and I'm too lazy to go up to my room to get the book).  All from being overscheduled and over hurried without time to think, play, unwind, and be a kid.

Incidentally, this also happened to me.  I was actually diagnosed with a form of traumatic stress disorder from a very stressful period in my life (a couple of years ago).  We did two building projects ourselves within a few years, moved 7 times in nine years, while I was having my dear babies.  The final straw was moving, having a baby two weeks later, moving again 6 months later into a house that needed a lot of work.  I had a little mini breakdown with all the symptoms listed above.  This is one of the reasons that part of my efforts to be a good parent includes a personal safety valve, what I call well-filling activities.  I think that is one reason this project has been an overall success so far.  While there is always more I want to do as a parent (you can probably tell by my millions of over-ambitious goals many months), its nice to have that little safety valve to keep things real.  So I can keep up the marathon pace I need to be what my kids need forever, and not just right now.

Which activities are a stress reliever, well filler, safety valve for you?  Today, for me, it was taking time to relax with my kids at the park.  We even stayed a little extra time, ate white bread smushed into various shapes that my three year-old had packed into a gallon ziploc bag with some juice boxes.  (yet enjoying those free smells!)  Blogging has been therapeutic for me too.  What are yours?

What is a good stress reliever for your kids?  How can you tell when they are not getting enough "kid" time?  Do you have a hard time saying no like I do?  It really seems to take such concerted effort!

Harry Potter Care Package

I'm a little embarrassed to even post this, because it is sorta like, look at me!  But, to borrow from another blogger, what is the point of blogs if you can't brag about pointless stuff like that (here)?  I also thought it might be fun in case anyone else wants to do something nice for someone they love before the month of October is over!

I have some dear friends in another state that I miss very much.  This was easy and fun.  I already had these cute treat boxes I bought at my local grocery store.  And the Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans (here).  And a chocolate frog mold (here-- cheap!).  I used to be so intimidated making my own chocolates but it is so easy! (instructions here ...I just melt my chocolate in the microwave, spoon it into the mold, freeze it for 20 minutes, and Voila!)  I bought some fizzy or otherwise weird candies that fit in with Harry Potter themes, then I took ordinary candies and made labels on my computer using the Blackadder font and brown scrapbook paper that looked old, then burned the edges right over my gas stove (hmmm...not recommended, I almost burned my fingers off).  If I had more time, I would have tried to make cuter wrappings with bows or something fun but I didn't have much time so I just wrapped them in Saran Wrap.  And put a label on top addressed to the witches or wizards on such-and-such Drive, from the witch at Honeydukes, _______ (state) division.

So fun and easy!

Just for a little pick-me-up today, here are some photos of E in the headband he has been wearing around.  It is so funny.  Suddenly I'll see him wearing this headband.  He will wear it in various positions, take it off and put it on over and over all day (the last couple of days).  I think it is super cute.  Kind of funny I had some pictures of him vrooming his cars all around in his headband.  (sorry, they were all blurry!)  When he puts the headband on he will sometimes say, in a high-pitched, pleased voice: "pretty....boy!"

Can you tell he has three older sisters?  (Today one of them said, "love you sonny!" and he said "lub...you...Tae-don!"  so cute)

Happy weekend!  We have been a bit lazy around here with no school the last two days.  We might go do something fun this afternoon though! 

Table Topics and Pink

This is a little random for today.

One of my loyal readers (ha,ha, my cute NY sister) sent me a gift that she thought would help my project.  It has been awesome!  I can't believe what stimulating and enlightening conversations we are now having at dinner.  Each card has a question-- they are called "Table Topics."  The questions are simple, but somebody did their homework because they work!  One night I was really laughing about how heated (in a good way) the conversation was about what they like to do at recess.  And practical for eating because the cards are protected from spaghetti fingers by a pretty clear box.

Speaking of acts of service, I've done my school shopping the last two years about a month after school and gotten some killer deals.  Like some cute cotton shirts at GAP for $3 and $5.  I always struggle finding P.E. shoes for my girls that are still feminine and cute, until I found these at a discount retailer for a great price.

My one well filler for last month, a splurge tube of NARS lipstick I read about on this cute girl's blog.  I haven't bought lipstick for 3 years.  So it's been fun and I even got a compliment today!  This tube was MIA for a few days, until I found what looked like some shady marks on the walls and carpet in a few places.  Luckily the lipstick did eventually turn up and wasn't as much worse for the wear as I thought it would be.  :)  And it came out of everything but the carpet.

The lipstick color is Roman Holiday.  I love it!  Just a touch of pink that feels updated without being crazy.

Happy weekend!  Have any fall weekend plans? For us:  soccer, a wedding, and some religion.

These Are My Jewels, Um, Designer Jeans-- What Mothers Sacrifice

I've been thinking a lot lately about a favorite talk of mine.  It's like a mini-parenting Bible condensed into a few wise words.  The man who gave it felt like a father to me, even though I had never met him.  But I learned so many things from his wise counsel and his warmth and his wittiness (learning just as much in a different way, from this man right now).  When he died, it took me a long time to get over missing him, as it were.

Okay, I'm already off the subject! And I haven't even started!

In his talk, These, Our Little Ones, Gordon Hinkley tells of a woman, who, in Rome, was sitting with some women as they compared their jewels with one another.  When asked, a widow named Cornelia answered, gesturing at her children, "these are my jewels."  They grew up to be the Graachi, two of the "most effective and persuasive reformers in Roman history (here)."  All because their mom loved them and believed that her most important job was being their mother. 

All of us give up things to be a mother (even the very worst mothers give up something!).  One day I realized, that while I love this story, I am not in the slightest bit tempted by jewels.  Every year as the holidays roll around and those touchy-feely commercials come on about someone who went to "Jared," I always gag, bleuch.  The last thing I would want my husband to spend a bunch of money on is an expensive jewel necklace that would soon be lost or broken.  (now the gorgeous earrings my sister brought me from Australia, that I wear every day, are an exception!)

So I thought....what are my jewels?  What do I choose to give up in my mothering for the well-being of my children?  (this is so different for everyone!  what may be a jewel for someone is a much needed well-filler for someone else!)

Okay, here is my short (long) list:  more education (some day!).   Wearing designer clothes.  Or even something that is not old or needs to be ironed!  Wearing dresses (see below!  I actually got to wear a dress last Sunday, didn't notice it had spots on it until I looked at the picture!  ha ha).  Since I have been nursing, I compute at the moment, a total of nearly 8 of the last 11 years, this means I have had to give up dresses for now.  A full night's sleep.  Ugly legs due to my varicose veins from pregnancy.  Travel.  Piano  (I still get some travel and piano in limited doses). Learning how to make quilts and other sundry DIY projects.  A clean, chaos-free house and a weed-free yard!  Money.  To buy new cars instead of used ones, wait less than 12 years for new couches :).  Alone time.  Enough said.  Humanitarian aid -- there is so much I want to do!  Tending to my basic needs, like eating, sleeping, and using the bathroom. 

YET.  I feel way more than compensated for those things I have given up.  I feel more beautiful knowing I have sacrificed for someone else.  I feel smarter having had the opportunity of explaining the world to my little ones.  My perspective has changed so much-- making my life of movies and malls and cards with my husband before kids sound so empty and dull (and we sure appreciate each date now!  For more about how motherhood has changed my perspective, see here).  I wouldn't trade that good night's sleep for watching my beautiful child, who has grown with my nourishment and care, sleep like a little angel.

I didn't mean for this post to be so long.

Here are a couple of poems on this subject:

Italian Lake
You are the trip I did not take,
You are the pearls I cannot buy;
You are my blue Italian Lake;
You are my piece of foreign sky.
-- Anne Campbell

And my own version, which I thought would be easy, and funny, and wasn't either.

My Italian Lake
You are my supermodel legs
You are my Nobel prize;
You are my full night's sleep,
You're what money can't buy.

Isn't it true, though?  When life is done, will we care about the jewels or the pearls or the designer jeans?  Or have the ultimate satisfaction of knowing what we did was most important.  Money can't buy that.

Hence, this on our wall (too bad not only can I not spell "important," I didn't even notice my mistake for over a year!  Guess it's not imporant.)

What are your "jewels?"  This is so different for everyone, because we still need things that fill our own well, so we have enough to give.

Sending Yourself Positive Messages

Sorry...this isn't what I had planned for today!  I don't have a well-filler for this month, at least nothing tangible.  Instead, I've been thinking a lot about what a positive mental attitude does and why it is important.  Enjoy!  Have anything that helps you pump yourself up when you are feeling down?

Sending your kiddos positive messages is probably way up there on your list.  But what about yourself? 

Here are a few positive messages to brighten your day. 



Enjoy these quotes I found on Pinterest.

Source: deseretbook.com via Corinne on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Corinne on Pinterest

This is a good reminder.  Believe in yourself, but realize no one can have it all-- you have to choose.

Source: blog.modcloth.com via Corinne on Pinterest

I love this!  I'd rather teach my kids to try and fail than not to try all.

Source: instagram.heroku.com via Corinne on Pinterest

"Be yourself" was something that resonated with me from Rubin's The Happiness Project. 



I heard this on the radio one day and I thought it was a good message that with God's help, we can be "Strong Enough."