Category Archives: kidlets

Prepare Yourself…

Posted on May 5, 2013 | 1 Comment

I was going to write another heavy post and then I saw this happening outside of my house.

And yesterday there was this when we were participating in a fundraising walk.

Posted in Caitlyn, kidlets, Patrice, Sue

I recently found a project on Pinterest I thought the girls would enjoy. You take foam letters or shapes, we call them stickies, and put them on bottle lids, we used Gatorade. Side note, one benefit of the stomach virus that never, ever, ever, ever leaves, suddenly you have a lot of gatorade bottle lids.

It turned out ok. At first, I wasn’t sure if it might be my third pinterest flop of the week, but the girls worked on their technique and got some pretty designs. They voted we keep our “stamps” to play with again. That is about as good as it gets, right? Maybe next time we will try with stamp pads. As soon as I figure out a cheap place to get some of those…

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Posted in kidlets, pinterest, Try Something New

Easter was Quiet

Posted on April 1, 2013 | Leave a comment

Normally Easter is rush, rush, hurry around here. We have breakfast and church, and egg hunt and then time with family. Yesterday did not include all of that. We still did the breakfast, colorful waffles and the egg hunt, but otherwise, the neverending stomach virus kept us home.

Home, home, home.

Again, again, again.

I cried. I pouted. I sulked.

But we did have some fun. Grandma dropped off presents, at the door, and ran.

Daddy tied Easter grass in the girls’ hair.

Daddy did an age appropriate lesson on Easter.

And finally…

We gave them very small peices, but luckily, none of them got sick last night, so maybe now, 4 weeks into this virus, we are coming out the other side…Maybe.

Honestly, I hope your Easter was better than ours, but we were home, fed and safe, celebrating Jesus.

Happy Easter.

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Posted in holidays, kidlets

When Do We Get a Break

Posted on March 5, 2013 | 4 Comments

My daughters mean the world to me. I love them with every ounce of my being. Sometimes I wonder if I love them too much, if I will stifle them with my love, if I am putting them before God in my life, putting them before my husband.

I wonder these things. I think most mothers do.

I also wonder, when do I get a break? When do I get down time? My girls are young, 2 1/2, 5 and 6 1/2. Those ages are demanding. They are needy. I could be on and at their disposal 24/7.

But sometimes, I need a minute. Not to be away from them, just a minute. Maybe to check twitter or facebook or play a quick word game.

Their demands don’t go away. Their demands aren’t any less important than they were a minute ago. But sometimes, mama and daddy need a minute.

Am I aware that some day they will be older? Yes. Am I aware some day they won’t call for me every minute? Yes. Am I aware that some day I am going to miss these ages? Yes, painfully so.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t need this minute. Denying myself this moment won’t make their childhood perfect. It won’t make me the perfect mother to do my children’s every bidding. It won’t make me miss them less when they grow up and leave the house.

Your cute little story on facebook about how my children want me now and I should savor this now, before it is gone, doesn’t make anything better. It makes it worse. It makes me feel guilty for needing a minute. It makes me feel judged for taking that minute. It makes me feel like a failure.

And that, my friend, my children don’t need. They don’t need a mother who feels judged. They don’t need a mother who feels looked down upon. They don’t need a mother who made herself a doormat and a non-person in order to not miss a single moment of her children’s lives.

Parenthood, at any age, isn’t exactly easy. It is a full-time job. It gives no holidays and no sick days. The best we can get is moments. Stolen moments, needed moments.

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Posted in kidlets

A Reminder In The In Between

Posted on March 1, 2013 | Leave a comment

I try to take a lot of pictures. There are a lot of moments I don’t want to forget or there are moments I want to share with others. But one of the best parts is when I’ve had a rough day, week or weeks, and I look at those pictures? I see something different. I see a reminder of why I fight the depression, the anger. I see glimpses of peace.

(My heart may be in that little backpack. It dawned on me today, that is my last baby, growing up as quickly as she can…wanting to head off into the world like her sisters)

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Posted in depression, kidlets

The Best

Posted on February 22, 2013 | Leave a comment

I tried to explain to hubby why I was so upset about feeling like I don’t invest in my kids most of the time; why just surviving is such trauma to me. He thinks it is because I worry too much about what others think of me. But it is not that simple.

Yes, I worry what other people think. I know my parenting style changes when there are people around, I don’t want them to think I am doing it wrong. Yet, for the most part, I am proud of a lot I have done. I was a breastfeeding, babywearing mama. I let my kids know I love them and am proud of them.

But I am haunted with the thought I am not investing in them enough. I am afraid they don’t believe how much I love them. I am afraid they won’t know how much my heart breaks when things go awry, when I yell too much or get too frustrated.

I want so much for them to understand how much I want to pour into them. How I want them to see and know the Love of God first, here at home. How I want them to have the self-confidence to head out into the world with their heads up high. How I want them to know home is a safe place to land, always.

What do you want for your kids? How do you show them?

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Posted in kidlets, random thoughts

Like Nails on a Chalkboard

Posted on February 4, 2013 | 1 Comment

I love my kids. Like crazy. To distraction.

But sometimes their sound is like nails on a chalkboard in my soul. It is just so loud. And before you tell me to teach my kids not to yell, I’m not talking about them yelling. Just talking, running around, playing. It just gets loud. And can shock my system.

Some days, it is my own fault. If I forget to take my morning meds, things are worse.

But other days I do take them. And it is rough anyway.

I am an only child. My house, growing up, was not filled with noise. I went to small schools, the classes weren’t that large. There just wasn’t a lot of noise. And I liked it that way.

Typically, when just Patrice and I are home, it is pretty quiet and mellow. And, Praise the Lord, she still naps, which helps.

But we’ve had days off school, snow days and sickie days lately. And the noise can push me to the edge of madness.

I remind myself that noise is my kids. Mine. And that helps. It does. But it isn’t a mute button.

I spend more time than I wish telling the girls to quiet down, not run so much. And fighting the urge to turn on the manageable noise of the television. I am proud to say, the girls haven’t watched any tv today. I have dealt with it as much as possible by closing doors, dividing and conquering, and just gritting my teeth.

But I tell you what, the older two are going back to school tomorrow!!!

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Posted in kidlets, random thoughts

All The Things

Posted on January 30, 2013 | 4 Comments

First, let me just say non-stop sickness since Christmas is not rocking my world. It has been crazy. But I think illness does explain the issues we were having last week getting Sue to go to school. They had Friday off. Guess who woke up with a fever? Yup.

Caitlyn was doing quite fine on Friday. So she got to paint her nails while the other two slept.

Patrice got to use some of her skills she learned in speech, physical therapy to make a colored sand necklace in Sunday School. This mama is very sad to report it already got broken, before I could put it in her keepsake box.

Then Monday came and we had our first snow day. I’m glad. Both older girls were feeling a little punky and I wasn’t sure whether or not to send them to school.

Enlist them as maids though? Absolutely yes.

Sue got crumbs on the chair. So Sue got to learn to vacuum.

Tuesday we started potty training Patrice. She had success.

And now today won’t cooperate to get into undies. Do I force her or let today slide because she is sick…hmmm. I’ll let you know what I decide!

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Posted in Caitlyn, kidlets, Patrice, Sue

That time of year again

Posted on July 16, 2012 | 1 Comment

We have a tradition around these parts. Every year we go to Dexter Blueberry Farm to pick…you guessed it…blueberries.

We even went the year Patrice was due any day.

This last Saturday the picking was rated excellent so off we headed.

And our first creation with the blueberries…

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Posted in kidlets, memories, Michigan Adventures

Nurtured or Not

Posted on April 20, 2012 | 8 Comments

Have you ever wondered what makes a child “nurtured”? I got to thinking about it today. Someone made a breastfeeding comment that offended this very vocal (formerly) nursing mama.

It made me feel bad about the minimal formula my older two had after birth. They were jaundice and my milk took awhile to come in…blah, blah, blah. My second child had exactly one syringe of formula, every other drop came from mama.

Anyway, none of that actually matters.

What I am trying to say, is that got me thinking about what makes a child nurtured.

A few things it is NOT:

breastfeeding
cloth diapering
cry it out or not
homemade baby food
babywearing

It is:

Mamas making the best decisions they can for their child(ren) taking all aspects of a situation into account. Maybe for some moms, at least for a season, they choose to do some or all of the above as part of nurturing their child(ren).

Other mamas may look at their life and child and find other things nurture their child. Maybe it includes formula feeding, daddy doing the night time feedings, co-sleeping, staying at home full-time, working outside the home full-time.

It takes different forms for different women and families. And for everyone, it will take different forms as the child(ren) grow. Somehow, mamas need to know and understand that nurturing is different for every family and will be different in all the many phases of growth and learning.

Nurturing is not defined by any one action or decision. It is loving that child in the moment for who they are and how they are. Loving will lead to nurturing, no matter what form that takes.

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Posted in breastfeeding, kidlets