Whenever I need a good pick me up, I just pick me up one of the latest crafts the girls made all by themselves from random tidbits from around the house. Oh and yes that is part of the plastic that came off of the tortilla packaging.

creative parenting

Some kids just require I little more creative parenting.

Choney Baloney is just one of those kinds.

I always say that it is a good thing he came so darn cute or else....

Good ol' Choney stuck a little orange bead in his ear. To be quite honest I do not know how long it was in there before he started complaining about his ear bothering him. I finally took a little look to see what was going on and to my dismay could not get the bead to budge that was lodged into the ear canal. Afraid of pushing it in further we devised a plan that included a hose attachment, a juicebox straw and an vacuum. Like the game of Operation, Waylon carefully sucked that bead right out.

P.S. - Christian loves that big blue backpack and hauls his treasures around wherever his non-matching Crocs will take him.

I hope you dance

Maren thinks it is an option to either go to first grade or ballet class. I laughed and tried to explain in a very "fun" way that she will get to go to school for about 18 more years. While we were on the subject of extracurricular activities I asked her if she would rather me sign her up for dance class, piano lessons or sports. With a funny little expression in her face she said, "Sspoorts'? "I probably wouldn't want to do that because I might fall down and get hurt." A little silence followed and then she piped back up and noted that I may want her to do sports so that she could get a trophy. I smiled and told her I wanted her to pick what she thought she wanted to do. Of course she went back to ballet because she thought that they would give her candy after class. I think I am just going to go ahead and offer her double the candy if she chooses piano....

I can't wait to see what life brings for that little girl.

On a separate note the girls (mostly Maile) were getting nervous to be recorded saying the Pledge of Allegiance at kindergarten today. The school does this and then gives the videos to the parents when the kids graduate from 6th grade. Anyway trying to ease nerves I told them that we would practice this morning. They did good. It made me think about the time I had to get up in front of 50 people for a group interview and give a small speech without more than a 5 minute notice. What was to follow was one of my most embarrassing moments..."Hi, my name is Christina and I am from America". The thing about is that everyone there was American but possibly at best had driven in from as far as New Mexico or California. I really had meant to say Arizona and not America... I thought I was going to die right there. It was so quiet until I let out a little laugh. Everyone else in the room followed suit. Yah I didn't get my 19 year old dream job. It all worked out though because the next time around when I was offered the job I actually turned it down for a better opportunity. Sometimes it is so hard to see the whole picture and to just keep on getting back up and trying and not being afraid of failing.

I think I am going to go and sing "I hope you dance" to my kids now.

I am a huge fan of my them.

Tender Moments

I need more time. I only have approximately 12 hours a day to do some good for my kids and for some reason that has really hit me hard as of late. That is just not enough time. Just when I think I have learned to slow down enough to fully savor EVERY single moment with my kids I really haven't.

I recently was recounting the time right after the boys were born to a friend. As much as the whole experience is a blur, I still remember the permanent imprint that was left on my heart because of the sweet spirit that was in our home. It is so interesting that in times of trial you can make it through only to come away remembering that it was some of the best parts of life. I can not describe the sweet feeling in out home other than saying it felt like a big protective bubble was placed around our home. It really felt like angels were protecting our home. Yes and some of those angels came in the form of real life people who came to serve out family. I even remember waking one night to hearing sweet Jamie singing ever so softly to my boys as she got through the 2am feeding which often took between 1 and 2 hours to complete. When I finally healed up enough and had the catheter removed 2 months after the boys were born I took over those 2am feedings. I was given so much strength to not only make it through all of the broken up sleep but to really enjoy all of those quiet moments with those heaven sent little miracle babies. I am so grateful for all of the tender moments I was blessed with. I need to recount these moments more often.

good enough

One of my kids goes to the beat of his own drum and I love how I sort of captured that on my camera. He's kind of off doing his own business while everyone else is hanging out...like pushing a stroller like a crazy man all around the field. For us this field is sort of magical because whenever we go on walks the kids get out and have to pick the dandelions or just run around chasing each other and it is a great time to stop and observe these sweet children in action. I will forever have images of their laughs, happiness, and sunshine on their little bodies ingrained upon my memory all courtesy of this field.

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I went to parent teacher conference yesterday to talk with the girls teacher. Right after I walked in I apologized to the teacher for getting the times mixed up and subsequently arriving a little late. She just looked at me and said, "I just don't know how you even do it". I almost started to cry because on the way over my heart felt heavy with the thoughts that I wasn't doing a good enough job. I maintained but told Mrs. Stradling that I could certainly be doing things to improve. She just looked at me and said, "Don't beat yourself up because you are doing a great job". I wonder why that is such a constant battle with so many Moms. What is good enough anyway?

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Today I decided that good enough would mean that even though the house was a mess that I would take the time to at least go for a walk with the boys while the girls were away. No errands, no naps but just some good old fashioned play time. I then decided that I am good enough at something and that something was liking to be with my kids. Sometimes that is what matters most...your kids knowing that you like to be with them. From here on out I mostly focusing on the things that I am good at and hoping that only those quick glances at what I am not good enough at will be just enough to make me want to keep getting better without being so darn hard on myself.

NOTE: Lately the boys have been obsessed with their boots and they are not taking their mattress off their bed as much as they used to.