Water The Flowers

"I don't want to forget this lesson: Imperfections are normal.  They are temporary.  They don't define us.  They might temporarily mask the beauty we wish we could see, but the potential is still there.  It always has been.  Sometimes we just need someone else to show us what we can be." - April Perry

Life is much sweeter when we concentrate on the "flowers" in our lives rather than the "weeds"/imperfections.  

That is my challenge to myself this week.

Personal Development

I think it's super important for others, especially our family members, to know that we're truly happy.

Let others see you doing things that make you happy, whether it be reading a good book, going on a run, talking a walk and enjoying the scenery, etc.  As a parent, I know that I am a huge influence on my  kids.  My attitude and actions towards everyday life helps to shape their view towards life.

If you aren't feeling that happy, here's a great article to check out:

5 Reasons Why You Might Feel Unhappy by Ashley LeMieux

Cherish Them

I'm trying to do a better job at soaking in special moments with my kids.  I'm trying my best to really focus on what my kids tell me throughout the day.  I want them to feel heard and I want them to know that I really want to know what they have to say.  I would hate for them to feel like I'm ignoring them or that I don't care about what they're excited to share with me.  Being an attentive listener is important to me.  One of my favorite times a day is between 7 and 7:30pm.  We have our pajamas on and we snuggle (a.k.a. "snug") on the couch and watch a little TV before bedtime.  My two youngest get to "snug" a little longer than my oldest because he reads and practices his spelling words with his dad.  I make sure to have my arms around them and plant kisses on their cheeks.  Big hugs are shared before Dad whisks them off to their bedrooms.  Dragging her favorite "ganket" (blanket) behind her, Katie runs to her dad when the time comes to get ready for bed.  When she gets to the bottom of the stairs, Katie remembers to run back to me to give me a big huge hug and a kiss.  

I cherish my kids.  Oh yes I do!

Memories Made in the AM

My goal to get up and make memories in the morning is going quite well.

I've felt like I've been missing out on some major bonding time because I've been sleeping in.

Slowly but surely, my mornings are changing for the better.

This week, Tyler and I surprised my mom and sister (who were visiting us) by bringing home

some raisin cinnamon rolls and Cutie's tangerine juice for breakfast. 

Tyler and I dropped Katie off at preschool.  Then I surprised Tyler with a gift bag at the temple... some doughnut holes and skewers.  (To kids, putting something as simple as doughnuts in a gift bag makes it seem extra special).  We made doughnut swords and drank "Sun Juices" (aka. Capri Suns) for breakfast at the temple.   After 3 minutes, we couldn't stand the cold anymore so we finished up our fun breakfast at McDonald's.  Tyler even made a new friend that's his same age... Andrew.  I had a nice long chat with Andrew's grandparents.  They are very nice people.

Lenny the Leprechaun came to visit the night before St. Patrick's day.

Lenny's card told the kids that they could eat the Lucky Charms out of one of the new green cups

and that after church, they could help mommy make some green Jell-o.

I want to be an excellent mother.  Notice, I didn't say "a perfect mother."  Being a perfect mother is impossible.  So, I've been trying really hard to let some things go... (aka. cleaning) and just hang out more with my family.  Also, I've been trying to make things a little more fun around here by doing things that are out of the ordinary.  I love it when I give myself permission to be spontaneous.  Spontaneity is how memories are made...even if spontaneity to me means still sleeping in on Saturdays.

Homemaking

A BIG HIGH FIVE to all of you HOMEMAKERS out there!

I hope you have made enjoyed making your home into a haven for your family. 

I've enjoyed decorating our home and making it comfy and cozy for my family and friends.

We've lived in our home for just about 4 years now and it took 

me and Sam a good 3 years to get our house looking the way we wanted.  

One thing that we'd like to do is paint an accent wall in the family room.

What is your favorite room/area of your home?  I really like how our office/guest room turned out.

My Profession

Until I saw this quote, I never really thought about child rearing as a profession.  

I thought of child rearing as my responsibility (and at times obligation) to my family.

I was not one of those little girls that played mommy all the time 

and daydreamed of my days as a mother.

Sure, I knew that eventually I'd get married and raise a family.

But to claim to others that child rearing is my profession... now that sounded strange to me.

The time came that I sat down and brainstormed all the wonderful things 

that come along with child rearing, and my attitude completely changed.

Now I am proud to claim child rearing as my profession.

Sure there are some major things in my profession that I don't enjoy, 

but the benefits outweigh the inconveniences.  

The health and happiness of my family is of the utmost importance to me.

As my children get older, there is always some tweaking to be done to help things run smoothly.

I'm proud of my family and hope that the contributions that I make are somehow making a difference.

Reclaiming My Mornings

I recently read an article that goes along great with the above quote.  

The article is called Working On It and it is written by blogger Emily Anderson.

The ideas Emily shares really hit home to me.  It makes me want to take better care of myself

so that I can be present in heart and mind with my little family.

"We must get up for our children, rather than to our children." -Kat

One of the biggest things that I need to work on is spending my time wiser in the mornings.

I sleep in until the last possible second.  By the time I get up (I'm NOT going to admit what time that usually is) Sam is at work and Brian is at school.  Katie is awake, talking to herself, sometimes repeatedly saying in the sweetest sing-song voice, "Brand new day." She is just patiently waiting for me in her crib.  And then there's Tyler, who has already had breakfast with the boys.  This 5 year old boy of mine is usually watching the TV downstairs, munching on junk food, some of which is always mashed into the carpet,  just hanging out alone.  Tyler turns that room into his own obstacle course consisting of couch cushions stacked up in a creative new way.  And I will not get into how the kitchen usually looks when I get up.  Just the messes he creates alone while I'm asleep should be enough to make me want to get up earlier and get going with my day.  But, it's sad to admit that most of my mornings are spent moping around the house, begrudgingly cleaning up the disgusting messes made, and shaming myself for allowing myself to sleep in again.  

I love this quote that was 

referenced in Emily Anderson's article, 

" I love you.  I am for you.  I enjoy you."  

Try saying it to your children and to your spouse.  

I am going to try saying this to the members of my little family.

I really think that by telling them those short and sweet little sentences will make a difference 

and will help to encourage myself to change my actions and attitude in the mornings.  

It is far better to cherish your children than to flat out ignore them.

Precious moments await me in the mornings and I am totally letting them pass me by.

As of today, I am putting my foot down.

It's time to reclaim my mornings and make fond memories with my loved ones.

I promise to follow up on this with a post titled "Memories Made in the AM."

Embrace the Camera/ Words of Wisdom - Mother's Day Edition

I had plans to write a big LONG post about motherhood and the new attitude I'm trying to adopt.  Here's the short version: So what, my house is usually A MESS... my kids NEED me.  I love spending quality time with my family.  I'm trying much harder to forget my to do list and concentrate more on making their childhoods ones filled with memories of me playing with them, exploring with them, teaching them, and LOVING them.  I want my kids to know that they are my favorite people (next to Sam, of course).  This summer is going to be a fun one, gosh darn it!  There's going to be more play dates at the park, more family pizza nights at the splash pad, backyard camping, more nature walks, etc.  

In case you were wondering, here's how my Mother's Day went.  Brian burst through our bedroom door at 6:57AM with his precious Mother's Day card and gift (a bookmark with a cute poem on it).  He was SO excited to give it to me.  The front of the card had a rainbow on it.  The inside said, "Dear Mom, I whant you to jomp on the tampoline with me.  Love, Brian."  Poor Sam is sick with a bad cold.  He hardly slept at all last night.  I had to take care of all the normal motherly duties today.  I made crepes for breakfast, put together a new Book of Mormon puzzle together with the boys, watched 17 chapters of the new Book of Mormon DVD that we got, and made tacos for dinner.  Sam stayed home from church with Katie.  My boys and I walked to church and back.  The boys behaved so good at church.  I was impressed.  Sam surprised me with a beautiful pot of pink, red, and purple flowers.  I think I'm going to divide them up into two pots and put them out on the front porch with our cute little wooden kid bench (that I plan on repainting).  Today was a good day.  It's nice to know that I'm loved and appreciated.

*  *  *

And just because I love quotes, I'll leave you with these fabulous thoughts:

Being a full-time MOTHER is one of the highest salaried jobs in my field since the payment is 

{PURE LOVE}

~Mildred B. Vermont

To see more EBC posts, click HERE.

Quotes on Womanhood

"She knew joy was one of her best accessories so she made up her mind to wear it every day."

“She loved the Lord with all her heart and it cast an amazing light on all she did.”

“She wanted to grow in beauty and grace, so she asked God to show her the seeds she should plant in the soil of her heart.”

“There is radiance in a woman who knows how priceless she is to God.”

“She welcomes the years with arms open wide and loves life with the kind of passion that comes straight from God.”

Realizations of Motherhood

I've been a mom for over 5 years now.  There are a few things that I've noticed with raising my two boys:

-  NOTHiNG can fully prepare you for motherhood.  Before Brian was born, I heard people say things like, "You'd better sleep as much as you can now.  You'll never sleep the same again once your baby comes."  And, "Live it up now.  Life gets so much harder once you have kids."  Man, I should've gone skydiving when I had the chance!

-  Most days, it's not worth the time and effort to wear nice clothes when you're a mommy.  Babies and kids are MeSSY!  Messier than I ever thought they could be.  I've realized that it's not worth putting on your nice clothes for church, for a date, or for a night out with the girls until right before you go out the door.  That way you can pretty much guarantee that you won't be walking around with baby slobber, crusty kid boogers, etc. on your clothes.

-  Kids always seem to start acting up when mom is are on the phone!  Why is that?!  To me, it's NoT FAiR.  Just because kids can see that mommy's not giving them 100% of her attention shouldn't give them the right to practically get away with murder!  My boys start beating each other up when I'm on the phone, ask for treats that I normally wouldn't give them, get really loud, etc.  You get the picture.  Growing up, I know I bugged my mom when she was on the phone.

-  Kids also seem to "need" you the most when you're in the bathroom.
-  Long showers for me are a must!  Most of the time, nobody is pounding on the door for my attention.
-  Mopping the floors is a joke!
-  Kid Haircuts = Nightmare!

But then of course there are those sweet moments that I wouldn't trade for the world:

-  Random, yet perfect hugs that are given at just when  need it.
-  Witnessing a learning moment for your child and see the excitement on their faces.
-  Snuggling with my kids.
-  Laughing and playing with my kids.

I feel so blessed to be a mother!  I have learned how to sacrifice, how to enjoy the sweet and unsweet moments, and what it feels like to be needed.  I have learned to not sweat the small stuff and to just keep moving forward.

HaPPy MoTHeR'S DaY!

Venting

*** Pictured below is an article I read on my friend, Renee's blog. (Sorry, I don't have the proper link to her blog.) Anyway, I thought the article gave a great summary of what a typical day of a stay-at-home mom is like with young kids.


CLICK TO ENLARGE (so you can read the article)

After reading this article, it made me think of what my friends without kids think I do all day as a stay-at-home mom. I most certainly am not turning into this, I promise:

I am a super hard worker. I strive to stay fit and take good care of myself. If I don't take good care of myself, I would have a harder time being a good wife, mother, sister, and friend.

Hopefully none of my friends think that I don't have time for them. I try my best to keep up with my friends and what's going on in their lives. Thank goodness for blogging and Facebook for making keeping in touch a whole lot easier. It's hard for moms of young kids to talk on the phone for hours on end and it's nice to be able to send friends a quick email or note to let them know that we are thinking about them. Don't get me wrong, I love phone calls from friends, I just don't usually have the energy or patience to listen to somebody yaking on the phone while my kids are screaming and pulling on my pantlegs for my attention.

F.Y.I. The best time to call me is about 7:30pm, when my wonderful husband, Sam is putting the boys to bed.

Anyway, thanks for letting me vent. I feel much better now.

The Invisible Mother

The Power of the Invisible Mother......

It all began to make sense. The blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store.



Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'

Obviously not.

No one can see that I'm on the phone, or cooking, or vacuuming the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.



I'm invisible. The Invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?'

I'm a car to order, 'Can you pick me up at 5:30?'

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in.

I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic when Janice turned to me with a beautifully
wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.'

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe .

I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:

'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'


In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, 4 life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

1. No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.

2. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.

3. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.

4. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything
.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam.

He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.'

And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no
one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile about.
You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life.

It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people are willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my daughter to tell the friend she's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself.

I just want her to want to come home. And then, for her to say to her friend, 'You're gonna love it here.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot see if we're doing it right.

And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Great Job, MOM!

Share this with all the Invisible Moms you know...I just did.

Hope this encourages you when the going gets tough as it sometimes does. We never know what our finished products will turn out to be because of our perseverance.



God Bless You.