Mommy's Project 52:6 Crazy

Crazy is me taking 3 kids to the grocery store, or anywhere really. If you never experienced the grocery store with three children aged 6, 3, and 18 months I will tell you it is hell wonderful. And you should have seen the time we went to Chuck-E-Cheese. What am I thinking to do these things by myself? Seriously I think I have screw loose. :) Crazy is tomorrow, we have a soccer game at 10, another at 12, a birthday party at 230, then dinner and 3 baths! And that's just the bare bones of what needs to be done. 

Crazy is Connor thinking that screaming this horribly shrill loud scream is an acceptable form of communication. He does this is at the most horrible times, in a restaurant, when he wakes up, when we are waiting, and in the car and the bathroom. Have you ever been in a small, confined space with the loudest shrillest sound ever? Yeah that's Connor. Crazy is Connor thinking he can do anything that his siblings can do from climbing to playing, dressing himself, even wearing their clothes!

Crazy is Brielle who likes to make up songs. Her most infamous one is "you don't have to be a poopy-doo." Those are the only lyrics. :) By the way I am pretty sure she got that saying from Daddy. Crazy is the way she loves and cares about her brothers. She loves to be around them, she looks up to CJ so much and she claims Connor is her "baby boy." Boy does that girl love her brothers.

Crazy is CJ's conversations. Today he was telling me that his Dad and I should have another baby and needs to be a girl so Bri won't have a room to herself anymore. Now THAT is one crazy idea, have another baby, hilarious! Now I get where he was coming from since he and Connor have to share room Brielle should too. Crazy is CJ and his "fads." CJ picks something he likes and sticks with it for a really long time to the exclusion of everything else, that one type of thing is all he wants to play with. First it was cars, then it was Mario, now it's Star Wars. I wonder what's next?

Here are a few pictures of my crazy kids:

I HAD to include this as an example of Bri's crazy  choice in clothing. I love how she tucked in part of her shirt so everyone could see her belt!

Mommy's Project 52:5 Loving

Well this week I am determined to get away from my lists! LOL.

I try to tech my children how to be loving and kind to each other and other people. So when they are not fighting they are GREAT to each other. Brielle more so than Connor. Brielle tries to help comfort Connor when he is upset. She gets him things, shares with him, and she tells him when he does something good. Connor LOVES his big sister he is always looking for her and wanting to play with her. When she goes over to a friends house to play he stands at the doorway looking for her and says "Sissy?".

What I really wanted to write about is my husband and how we have been doing with him half a world away. I have really been missing him the last week or two. For me him being where he is encourages me to show him love in ways I didn't before and to appreciate the small stuff. The hurried phone call, the post on my Facebook wall put there when we couldn't both be awake and online at the same time. The way he sounds so happy each time he gets a care package. To show him love so far away we make him things, draw and paint pictures, write letters to him, I take video and pictures of the kids. I send care packages full of things I know he likes and some stuff that I hope will make him smile and laugh. Stuff he can have fun with, stuff he can enjoy and know that people back home love and support him. Am I always doing it right? No, probably not but I try.

So to my husband, I love you and I miss you. I can't wait for you to come home! (Its starting to get cold at night and I need my heater. LOL). Thank you for all that you do.

Mommy's Project 52:4 Dirty

Here is my typical Sarah, thought provoking  list post:

My dirty little secrets about pregnancy and being a mommy:

Sometimes while I was pregnant I felt like a host for a parasite--man did I hate pregnancy!

When I was pregnant I ate whatever I wanted. Don't get me wrong I ate fruits and vegetables and all that, but with Connor I wanted bacon--ALL THE TIME--so I ate it every chance I could. With Brielle I could not gain weight so they said eat pizza, make milk shakes everyday, so I did. Man did I have a lot of milkshakes!

When I got stretch marks with my son I was PISSED! I cursed, ranted and yelled. Then I went and cried my eyes out.

I would go through labor and delivery 10 times in order to avoid nine months of pregnancy. I loved feeling my baby move and all that other good stuff but overall I was sick and uncomfortable the whole time.

You will miss the little stuff from before you had kids. Don't get me wrong I don't wish my kids away but man sometimes I wish for privacy in the bathroom, to sleep in past 0800, to have a conversation that does not involve my children (what did I talk about before I had kids???), or maybe to watch an entire movie in one sitting.

That saying about having your heart walking around outside your body is totally true and you will never totally understand until you are a mom.

I have never felt pride the way I do when my children are successful at something.

Some of that stuff I said I would never tolerate from your child or let my child do--yeah, it happens sometimes.

My children have gotten sick and been in pain and I hurt so much for them. I also get angry and frustrated sometimes because I can't make it better and lets be honest because it is the 3rd night in a row I have got less than 4 hours of sleep...

My children will teach me at least as much as you teach them.

Nothing beats having my child tell me they love me or that I am their best friend. It is the MOST incredible feeling in the world.

Sometimes I have to take a time out.

Being a Mommy can be overwhelming and under-appreciated.

I always think someone else is doing it better.

I can't be on time for anything unless I get there at least 30 minutes early. So if it's an important thing I plan to leave an hour before I actually need to be there so I am on-time or no more than 5 minutes late.

I really feel like an ass when I scold my child for coming out of her bedroom for the 3rd time at bedtime only to hear her say "I just want a hug mommy"

I thought I would never want to be a stay at home mom, but I am actually loving more all the time. Except when they are screaming and whining all day.

I have become (as my husband would say) more of a hippie since having kids. I try to clean greener, eat fresh fruit and veggies, grow my own food, make more of my own stuff, the list goes on...

I make friends through my children. That's kinda sad but at least I know who my children are friends with and what kind of experiences they will have when I am not there.

Sometimes between my kids, my husband (shh... don't tell him lol), the Army, bills, and well just life, I think I will end up at the mental hospital down the street.

I have realized it is going to be awfully hard to let the kids go...

The only night I have spent away from Brielle was when I gave birth to Connor (and half a night when Ty had appendicitis). I have never been away from Connor overnight. Sometimes I wish for one night away but the one night away was so hard.

Sometimes I tell my kids I am going to the bathroom and I just go sit there for 15 minutes to be alone.

Sometimes when company is coming I shove the dirty dishes into the stove to hide them and all the random things get thrown in our bedroom and the door gets closed.

I love on-demand and Netflix. It is a goldmine of time when I get left alone kids shows. And if you haven't seen Super Why you should check it out on Sprout or Netflix.

I try REALLY hard not schedule anything away from home during nap-time. I need the peace and quiet.

Wow! This ended up being pretty long, and I could write more. What are your dirty secrets about being a mom?

Mommy's Project 52:3 Challenging

Wow I have a lot to say on the topic of challenging. As a mother, stepmother, and military wife there are so many challenges. I am constantly having to adapt. I am trying to view these challenges as a positive experience and an opportunity to grow. Here are some things I have learned from all of the challenges I have faced in the last few years.
1. It's okay to ask for help. No one is going to think worse of you because you say I need help today and if they do then they need to be educated, they are not really your friend to begin with, or they are some kind of superhero. :)
2. It's okay to not have all the answers.
3. Do the best with what you have at the time.
4. Cereal is an acceptable dinner food. So is toast and fruit, in fact there have been a few days while my husband has been gone that if it did not fall into the food group consisting of: cookies, cake, ice cream and other similar "junk" I deemed it acceptable.
5. Some days are a Twinkies kind of day. I said this once several years ago when after having a crappy morning I went to get something to eat and came back with lunch and some Twinkies. Man did those Twinkies taste good! Sometimes you just have indulge yourself.
6. Giving to everyone else first leaves you with nothing for yourself. Don't feel bad about saying no sometimes and make sure to take a little time for yourself daily.
7. Live in today but plan for tomorrow. You cannot worry about tomorrow but you do need to plan for it.
8. Enjoy the small stuff. Oh how I miss just having my husband next to me... And man does it feel to be able go to the bathroom by yourself!
9. Let go of the stuff you have no control over. You can control yourself and to some extent your children (kinda depends on their age). Get mad at the other stuff then let it go; it is only going to get worse if you carry it around. And boy is this a work in progress for me!
10. Don't judge yourself on what you see of other people, you never know what you are not seeing. This one is SO HARD! I always find myself comparing my house to other people's and my house definitely comes up short!!! I am not housekeeper of the year, in fact I am so far removed from that title I would never even be nominated. :) But I try to remind myself that I devote myself to my children and I do my best to get to that other stuff. I mean its not like my house is disgusting or anything but dishes get left out overnight or clean laundry piles up waiting to be folded... It always seems like other people can get everything done. It seems like they don't have the problem of clean it and within a couple of hours its dirty again.
11. Be flexible, if something is not working change it.
12. Set achievable goals. Set yourself up for success--don't make it too easy but don't make it next to impossible either.
13. Relationships are work. Even in the best of times relationships take effort and time.

Mommy's Project 52:2 Silly

So while thinking about this topic for the last week I have become aware of the fact that I am not very silly.  If you know me you know I am the serious and sarcastic one. So in thinking about what I was going to do for this week it hit me: my husband is not here consequently there is no one helping and encouraging the kids to be silly. So I decided that I was going to try and do something silly more often, not just this week but all the time. I think it is important for people to laugh often and I realized with my husband gone for the foreseeable future I need to step up for the kids and for myself. I need to encourage us to be silly!


The past week has been kinda busy and full but this is my challenge to myself for the coming weeks and months: To really laugh once a day, not that half a laugh but to relax and be silly with my children and to let them teach me what I have forgotten. I bet we will all be a little happier.

I am posting a few of my favorite silly pictures of the kids.

Bri walked out and said "Look I'm Bob the Builder" and then sang the Bob the Builder song.

Cheesing for the camera with a bucket on her head.

Connor likes to put his face into the cupcake.

He looks so surprised!

Bri likes to close her eyes when taking a picture so I asked her to hold her eyes open real big and this is what I was given.

Mommy's Project 52:1 Teaching

So I am FINALLY getting around to writing this. As I live on the west coast it is still Thursday. :) So I was thinking about all the things I could write about teaching one thing stuck out in my mind; the things I hope I am teaching my children. So here are a few of the many things I hope I am teaching them:


1. How to show someone you love and care about them. That it's not about what you buy or where you go, its about being with them and being there for them. Its about sharing and helping. It's about sacrificing for them and also allowing them to help you when you need it.


2. That everyone is worthwhile. I hope I am teaching my children that it doesn't matter what someone wears, what they look like, their mental or physical ability, how much money they have, where they live, how they talk, or what they believe in (I could go on and on...). They are a person and they have the same feelings that you do. 


3. The Golden Rule: Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You. Treat others as you wish to be treated. If you treat people poorly expect to be treated poorly in return. If you do not help someone do not expect them to help you. If you make a commitment, keep it (unless of course there is an emergency).


4. Believe in yourself. If you don't believe you can't achieve. Keep trying until you get it.


5. Education is invaluable, it opens doors otherwise closed. Learning is a lifelong process, none of us knows everything and that is okay. Ask all the questions you need to in order to understand something or to gain knowledge not previously known. I hope I am also not just giving them information but showing them how to learn and how to discover answers on their own.


6. How to pick yourself up after disappointment. We cannot always have what we want when we want it. Life is full of missed chances and opportunities, pain and suffering, and bad decisions; we need to learn how to recover from them and not allow them to drag us down. Tomorrow is a new day, full of new opportunities.


7. Have FUN! Enjoy your life. Laugh often it really does help.

Oh, and I am going to work on getting all this picture stuff down (i.e. remembering to take more) :)

Mommy's Project 52

So I am setting up this blog because my friend Donna asked me to. :) And well, because frankly being at home with the kids everyday I need a place to be an adult and a place to express myself. I have a lot to say so I anticipate that I will be posting more often than this project requests. But hey at the very least you will have something new from me every week. But, back to why Donna asked me to do this. Her friend Robin has set up a challenge for people to blog about a provided topic once a week for a year. So if you want to participate join in with us create a blog or add this to your already existing blog. The link for Robin's original post is below.

http://www.babiesdesignfood.com/2011/07/mommys-project-52.html