Humble Mom

I had to go run a couple arrends yesterday. Sean was home with the kids, so i was out alone. I rarely take the kids to things like Jamba Juice, it just ends up being so expensive. So I was out, alone, saw Jamba Juice and pulled in. Spontaneous, I know. So I'm standing in line behind a family of four. I LOVE to people watch. So I'm watching this family. Mom, Dad, and 2 daughters, one daughter probably in Jr. High, the other in early High Schoolish. They were such a sweet looking family. The girls just had a sweet and innocent air to them. The parents seemed happy. But I ended up watching the mom the most. She was beautiful. And not typical outward beauty(which she was), but it was as if I could feel her inward beauty radiating out. I was so enthrawled with them. I watched them all order their drinks and the Jr. High(ish) daughter walk forward to pay for all of them. The mom very sweetly went behind her after she got done paying, put her arm around her, kissed the top of her head and thanked her. Such a simple trasaction, but for some reason spoke volumes to me. I saw a daughter putting her own agenda aside and so generously paying for her and her families Jambas....but what seemed to stand out the most was that moms humility. I saw a strong woman standing in front of me, with 2 strong, selfless daughters...and I envied them.
How do i quietly lead my family? How do I humbly yet firmly discipline my children? How do I train them up in the way they should go? without getting angry, without losing my temper, without yelling all the time, without being an absent mom? How do I know that anything I am doing now is going to have an impact on them down the road? How can I be sure that how I mother isn't screwing them up for the rest of their lives?
Its so silly, but all I want is my Jr. High daughter to someday want to be with her family, and want to buy us all Jamba Juices. Because she WANTS to. Because i've done SOMETHING right.

Because I've been that humble mom.

Ikea

Spent the day at Ikea yesterday.

Sean comes home the other day and says "We're going to Ikea, I've got to buy 128 bowls for a wedding, and theirs are on sale"...so we went for it! Hoped in the car a couple days later, had a list, 3 kids, snacks, everyone else's lists, Lance's behind us (with their 3 kids)...ROAD TRIP. Get to Sac around noon, eat lunch at a surf place, get the kids frisbees and we hit Ikea.

1:30-walk into Ikea, heads held high, excitement in the air, 6 energetic kids at our feet.

1:35-Amazing Kids play area (day care) tell us they can't take our kids for another hour.

1:45-head up the escalator. Start browsing, still excitement energy running through us (well, me and the kids, at least)

1:50-6 kids jumping on chairs, couches, swinging around on chairs, jumping from one cart to the next...

1:52-excitement energy slowly draining with complete realization that WE'RE IN A PACKED GINORMOUS STORE WITH ALL KINDS OF BREAKABLE THINGS WITH 6 KIDS...WHAT WERE WE THINKING??!!!!

1:53-pull it together, pull the kids together, pep talk. Shop.

2:15-screw another hour, Sean and Dan take the stinkin kids back down to the day care place

2:15-3:30-Pick out bed

3:30-crap,kids are back...what just happened to that hour?!

4:00 frantically running around Ikea throwing random stuff into 5 carts Sean, Alyssa, Dan and I are all hauling (filled with JUST stuff for us)...kids are melting down

4:30-check out. Get kids ice cream and get the h*#% out of Ikea!!!

Crazy day, but all in all SUPER fun. I kinda love and thrive in chaos!! Thanks Lances for taggin along and being so patient while I took over an hour to pick out a freaking bed, which by the way, ended up being a twin. Awesome, now we get to go all the way back and re-get a bed....

Poor guy was so tired, he literally fell asleep IN the cart.....

Headaches

I get headaches. Everyday. Always have since I can remember. My mom ran the gammot of tests when I was in HS...never figured out why. Its wierd for me now NOT to have a headache. They are just part of my days. I wake up with them and go to bed with them. I'm fine with it....it is what it is.

So lately I've been feeling like I need to give up caffiene and sugar. I've been drinking so much (for me-2 cups a day), thats a ton. So i cut it out cold turkey a few days ago. And what irks me about my headaches is cutting out the caffiene=crazy bad headache for 3 days (to be expected). So now heres my predicament....I'm actually feeling good today, regular headache, but not bad like its been. But I know if I were to have a cup of coffee at some point in my future (which is destined to be sooner, rather than later) It'll give me a HUGE headache. If I have the littlest bite of sugar, HUGE headache. When I cut things out, and then add them back in.....always gives me a ridiculous headache.....WHAT THE HECK!! And taking them out, Ridicuous aches....hmph, trying to be good is just painful...

Last day

Last day of school: Party!! Below: Sky and her sweet teacher, Mrs. Adams

Skylar woke up excited and actually wanting to go to school today, since it was the last day. Couldn't have every day the last few months have been like this morning?? Its been such a rough couple of months for miss Skylar girl. I don't know what happened, what made her go from loving school to despising it, but I'm hoping 1st grade redeems itself for her. She suffers from chronic stomach aches, which what has made our mornings so miserable. Every night and every evening she complains of horrible pain. Been to the Dr, tried removing milk from her diet.....maybe its has just been nerves. At any rate, I'm SO happy its summer! No more getting up and having to be ready and out by 7:30! No more fighting in the mornings. No more waking up Ryder from his nap to go pick up Skylar. So happy. However, on the flip side of not rushing comes more arguing, boredom, more arguing, fighting....so my mission this summer is to get us on a schedule. Maybe breakfast, walk, craft, lunch, swim.....I'll work out the kinks....

Happy SUMMER!

Month in Review

April.

Ryder-22 mo.

-Fully submerge 2 whole rolls of toilet paper in toilet

-Dump out entire contents of Cream of Wheat all over kitchen and draw in it

-Color walls (with washable markers, various colors)

-Color his whole body (non-washable marker)

-Attempt to flush hair brush, toothbrushes, make-up, down toilet

-Flush rubberbands and bobby pins down toilet

-Dump out muliple glasses of water/milk/juice

-Dump out entire 1 gallon of apple juice all over kitchen floor

-Clog Toilet

-Replace old toilet

-Color on walls, once again

-Empty out contents of of Skylars RED paint all over my carpet

-Dump out Skylars nail polish on my floor

-Take 1/2 and 1/2 off counter and emtpy onto my floor

.....and this is just stuff off the top of my head.

He definitely gets plenty of spankens, however, doesn't seem to phase the darn kid...

Its a good thing, he's so stinkin cute!

Grandpa

My Grandpa passed away. Everything happened so fast. It seems like just a few days ago the Drs found a lump on his lungs...and were testing it to see if it was cancerous. What happened? All of a sudden he's gone. Even though his 88 years here were happy and full, and even though I know that He's in SUCH a better place, know that he's home, I still will miss him so terriibly. I will see him in every belt buckle I see, in every cowboy boot, in every silly piece of candy. I will hear him every time I walk in to my Grandmas house say "Hi my doll baby, there's my favorite girl (next to your Mother, of course)", I will see him through my Grandmas eyes when she thinks of him or tells stories of him. I will see him in the love of our family. The strength of our family. He leaves behind a strong legacy. Of friendship. Of faith. Of love. Of marriage. It is because of him we are who we are. My Grandpa was a great man. I celebrate his life, but i sure grieve the hole he's left behind.

Garden

Our Garden. Yep, we're gonna give it a shot. All the makings for salsa: tomotoes, jalepenos, cilantro. Green beans, zucchini, and basil. Starting small, if a success, then we've got plenty of room to grow next year. Just thinking of our very own Gafner salsa makes my mouth water....mmm...