Summer Recap.

This is what I started writing about the other day, and then it turned into something completely different! I still want to update about our summer though…since I was silent for three whole months. Oops. 

So here we go. Summer. It was glorious! And just like any good thing, it passed way too quickly. We had Benji home with us more than usual, which was great! He wasn’t home everyday, as he continued to open up his library once a week for the kids, and also helped out once a week (sometimes more) with a summer camp they had at his school, but we usually had him here 4-5 days out of the week. It was nice. 

We started our summer off with a trip to the park. 

 

We love going to the park, and just being outside. So we did lots of that! 

We went to baseball games, went swimming, and we played at the new splash pad that opened up near our home. We picked blueberries:

We visited friends and family. Emrist actually got to meet an aunt, uncle and two cousins for the very first time too! We went to playgroups, and did story-times. Benji did a few story-times for my mommy group that were awesome! We ate friend green tomatoes, squash and green beans. We sat outside, way past Harper’s bed time, and enjoyed watching fireflies together. We even caught a few because Harper kept asking us to turn them on and off for him 🙂 

We soaked up the sun whenever it was around. It went missing for half of June & July. It rained a lot then, and was cooler than usual. Once all that passed, we ended up getting summer colds. Then the kids got pinkeye. Then we got colds again. I got an ear infection, and didn’t go to the doctor. Then my eardrum ruptured and I *had* to go to the doctor. I spent a few weeks not being able to hear out of my right ear – being a waitress and not being able to hear properly is ANNOYING. Then I got better! 

Benji and I took our first trip away without kids since…2010! Wooo. Thing 1 and Thing 2 stayed with my mother, while we were gone. It was lovely, although we did miss them terribly. They weren’t phased at all by our absence. I think they may like Gran more than us? 🙂

And then there’s the growing.

Oh my, yes….the growing! Both kids grew like weeds over the summer.

Harper is quickly heading into “three” territory. 

“No.” 
“My turn.” 
“I don’t want to do that.” 
“No, mom. You do it.” 

Etc. Etc. Etc.

All of his latest, greatest phrases. There is so much sarcasm in that sentence. I’m guessing this is the time everyone warned us about? “Terrible twos are nothing. It’s three you have to worry about.” Meh. lol.

Life with Harper is nonstop talking and nonstop eating, with some crazy awesome giggles in between. He is always asking for something. He gives amazing hugs, especially when I request a really tight one! Occasionally, he can be a little bipolar – happy one minute, falling apart the next. He’s funny, empathetic, and a lover of mechanics. He is obsessed with helicopters, propellors and air conditioning units (yes). He loves his baby sister, and finds so much joy in making her laugh. He’s really great at making me slow down. I rush. He doesn’t. He loves to stop and take it all in, something I should do more often. He kisses bugs and enjoys dancing in the rain. He is just so alive, and I love it! I love this age, even with the challenges I can see coming down the pike 🙂

And Emrist. Sweet little sugar plum, diva girl.  

She really is a diva. I have given birth to a diva. Me. How on earth did that happen? Y’all. She is eight months and already slings herself onto the ground when she doesn’t get her way. It’s hilarious. And quiet frightening. What is this darling dove going to be like as a toddler? Or worse. AS A TEENAGER?! 🙂 I’m already trying to formulate my game plan. How to mold and guide her, while keeping her stubbornness intact. I like that she’s stubborn, and I want to keep her that way. I want her to fight for what she wants and to never settle. But I don’t want that fight to involve kicking and screaming on the grocery store floor! Ha. I can just see that in our future. Maybe I just need to focus on teaching her to fight nicely.

She is so precious and has the sweetest smile. She loves to be held close. And my goodness…she LOVES her daddy. And her brother. Benji and I joke that she may love Harper more than she loves us. He can make her laugh anytime, anywhere. Those two are going to run together. Just like her brother, she loves to eat! And you know what? When we started her on solids, I was worried about Harper stealing her food. It’s actually the other way around – she steals his!!! She likes to bounce, dance and mimic us. Her giggles are contagious. She has brought so much joy to our family. 

Benji got this book for her for Christmas, and it’s just so perfect for her: 

Our little blueberry girl. Goodness, we love her.

 

So there you have it. A little recap/update. Life is good. We are so blessed by these two! 

 

LOL

 

I Don’t Measure Up.

I’m tired. All day, every day. A consequence of staying at home during the day and waiting tables at night? Or maybe just a consequence of growing older and having two kids? Who knows. Who cares. But I nap just about every day in order to survive. My house is neglected. This blog is neglected (it has been three months since my last update!). But my children and husband are well-loved and cared for, so I’m hoping it’s okay.

May I ask you all a question? What are your homes REALLY like on the inside? I’m not talking about what it looks like three seconds before a guest arrives. What does it look like throughout the week, when you’re not expecting company? Does it look like my choatic, lived-in home? Or does it look like what I picture for you? When I imagine what my friends’ homes might look like on an average day, I always picture something like an Orbitz Gum commercial. A well-organized, well-put together home, clean…with that little sparkly ding that comes at the end of every Orbitz commercial.

That is so not my house. We live in chaos. It includes toys all over the floor 24/7, dirty dishes in the sink (and on the countertops), clean clothes piled on the couch waiting to be put away, etc. etc. etc.

And you know what I ask myself on the bad days? Is this normal, or am I just lazy? Is it lazy of me to rest when the kids do, instead of cleaning my house? Honestly…sometimes I feel like I’m missing some sort of godly superwoman trait that would allow me to run a more organized home. “Hey, uhhh…what am I doing wrong here, God?” There are times when I feel compelled to drive myself into the ground cleaning, even though my work will likely be destroyed in two seconds flat when Todd wakes up from his nap. In those moments, I clean, and clean and clean hoping that I’ll measure up to whatever it is I’m comparing myself to.

But you know what? I never do. I never measure up. If I have a perfectly clean home, something else slips. Dinner…time with my kids/husband…time for myself…rest. I can’t do it all.

I. DON’T. MEASURE. UP.

Why is that? Because I suck at being a wife and mom? No. I think know it’s because I’m measuring myself against the wrong things. Pinterest. Facebook. Twitter. Friends. First-time moms. Sixth-time moms. Family. In Laws. Etc.

None of those things are me though, so of course I’m not going to measure up. God didn’t create me to measure up. He created me to just be me.

I texted my mom about a month ago when I was having a really bad day. She had four kids, while working full-time – hello, awesome?! I told her I felt like I was drowning in a sea of laundry and dishes and I just wanted to know how she did it with four.

This is what she said:

“I felt that way too, but I just did what I could and made sure everyone had dinner. If you never take any advice from me, hear this. Do what you can, but don’t put off spending time with Benji and the kids, getting outside and doing fun things. Laundry will wait, but your family won’t and you will regret it if you have a spotless house, but never spend time playing with your kids. They will grow up, but the housework will always be there!” And then she followed it up with perhaps the best advice ever. “And use paper plates whenever possible.”

HAHA!! That last line cracked me up.

But seriously. That text was like an aha moment for me. Stop comparing myself to everyone else, and just….BE! Enjoy my babies and my husband and be in the moment with them. Even if it involves tripping over toys that are strewn about the floor 😉