This is meant to be sung, to the tune of "A Few of My Favorite Things".
Weeding the gardens
And seeding bare patches
Picking up garbage
And things the stray catches
Dodging the dog poo
And treasures he brings
These are a few of my favorite things...
Folding the laundry
And washing up dishes
Picking up hairballs and
What smells like dead fishes
Wet soiled bedsheets
Dust bunnies with wings
These are a few of my favorite things...
Indoors or outdoors
It doesn't quite matter
If I can't reach it
I'll just get a ladder
Clogged dirty toilets
And car doors with dings
These are a few of my favorite things...
When the kids fight
When my girl screams
When the end feels near
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I just grab.... a beer!!!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Resolutions Update: How Am I Doing?
After this first quarter of 2011, I felt the urge to check in and reflect on my progress.
In spite of a few personal stumbling blocks, I am still seeking out Joy whenever I can. Teaching the kids to find it outside of Wii, the Cartoon Network and torturing one another has been a bit of a challenge - but - winter is finally over so... there's hope.
Giving back where I can? Maybe not as much as I'd like, but in my defense there's been a lot going on. I see so many places where I can help. Will continue to work on this.
Fulfilling one dream this year? Working on that.
To the people I love and cherish - I love and cherish you!!
I spoke my truth. Some didn't like it. Many more did. Thank you for that.
Still running! Again, a little short on investment, but I tend to be an underachiever when faced with blinding wind and rain, and ongoing sleep deprivation. The weather is a lot more inviting now, who needs sleep? First 5k scheduled for May 14th. Pray for me that I survive.
Eating better than ever - lots of fruit and vegetables, salads, etc. Did I eat Oreos? Half a bag of potato chips? 14 ounces of Hershey's chocolate? Well, perhaps next time no one will ask me to hide the Easter candy five days before "aunt Mary" arrives.
"I will take time for me." I have, several times. And, I have continued to assert my needs and behold! I have been heard. I've been getting "me" time at least once a week - with only a little drama from my youngest who still thinks she's my boss. Who knew it would be this easy?
I did stop making excuses for my choices, emotions and behavior. I did apologize occasionally - but, as I am still in the "asserting me" phase, I may have dodged a few apologies. I'm not without remorse. Email me if you need one.
Of course I continue to fight for my daughter's health - that's a no-brainer. She, however, continues to fight me tooth and nail (literally) over virtually every meal and pump infusion set change. Therefore I continue to pray for a cure, and my sanity.
I'm trying to be a great mom, really I am, but let's face it - some days you're only as good as your tolerance will stretch. My two little angels challenge me virtually every day not to be Mommy Dearest on crack. But I do tell them I love them every day, AND I hug them all the time - whether they like it or not.
Every day I wake up has been a new opportunity to be "me" again. It is a divine blessing to live in the light.
"To your own Self be true." ~ William Shakespeare
In spite of a few personal stumbling blocks, I am still seeking out Joy whenever I can. Teaching the kids to find it outside of Wii, the Cartoon Network and torturing one another has been a bit of a challenge - but - winter is finally over so... there's hope.
Giving back where I can? Maybe not as much as I'd like, but in my defense there's been a lot going on. I see so many places where I can help. Will continue to work on this.
Fulfilling one dream this year? Working on that.
To the people I love and cherish - I love and cherish you!!
I spoke my truth. Some didn't like it. Many more did. Thank you for that.
Still running! Again, a little short on investment, but I tend to be an underachiever when faced with blinding wind and rain, and ongoing sleep deprivation. The weather is a lot more inviting now, who needs sleep? First 5k scheduled for May 14th. Pray for me that I survive.
Eating better than ever - lots of fruit and vegetables, salads, etc. Did I eat Oreos? Half a bag of potato chips? 14 ounces of Hershey's chocolate? Well, perhaps next time no one will ask me to hide the Easter candy five days before "aunt Mary" arrives.
"I will take time for me." I have, several times. And, I have continued to assert my needs and behold! I have been heard. I've been getting "me" time at least once a week - with only a little drama from my youngest who still thinks she's my boss. Who knew it would be this easy?
I did stop making excuses for my choices, emotions and behavior. I did apologize occasionally - but, as I am still in the "asserting me" phase, I may have dodged a few apologies. I'm not without remorse. Email me if you need one.
Of course I continue to fight for my daughter's health - that's a no-brainer. She, however, continues to fight me tooth and nail (literally) over virtually every meal and pump infusion set change. Therefore I continue to pray for a cure, and my sanity.
I'm trying to be a great mom, really I am, but let's face it - some days you're only as good as your tolerance will stretch. My two little angels challenge me virtually every day not to be Mommy Dearest on crack. But I do tell them I love them every day, AND I hug them all the time - whether they like it or not.
Every day I wake up has been a new opportunity to be "me" again. It is a divine blessing to live in the light.
"To your own Self be true." ~ William Shakespeare
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Is it? Is it? Could it be.... will I find... Shangri La?
I woke up a few days ago with a dazzling revelation - we were about to begin day 140 in school and, as we know, there are 180 days of school. Know what that means? Only 40 - FORTY - days of home-schooling left!! Mrs. Mom - er, this teacher - has already begun the countdown to the last blessed day. I will shamelessly admit to counting the days, and that Ava's last day - barring any unforseen roadblocks - will be June 2nd.
These last 3 months have pushed me right to the edge of the cliff overlooking Happy Place, like the Grinch staring down at Whoville on Christmas. Cabin fever notwithstanding, Ava and I have been literally on top of each other with few opportunities for escape since before the New Year. One day she is enthusiastic and independent, but the remaining four (excluding weekends) she wraps herself around me like a boa constrictor and I am forced to peel her off of me and move away fast. I stand jealously by the door to my prison - where the inmates relentlessly pester me over lost tennis balls and chew toys, refuse to work up to potential and forever invade my personal space with constant demands for attention - watching my oldest child hop the bus to the promised land.
Meanwhile, I start video lessons with Ava and she immediately stops them to ask me some unrelated question or need to "get something upstairs." If she doesn't stop them she talks over them or sings little songs to herself, and I know she hasn't heard a word they said. I am constantly reprimanding her for interrupting lessons and stalling. She does enjoy the worksheets and special exercises - anything to break up the unpredictable routine. One thing we can count on here - unpredictability. The monotonous routine we began back in September, well, we needed to shake it up a little. Even sleep-challenged me was fighting the drooping lid syndrome on many a day - only further enhanced by my daughter's whiny voice and head-on-the-table behavior.
There are way too many days when she insists on sitting on my lap during lessons - for videos and even worksheets - that by the end of the day I have reached maximum saturation for physical contact. Seriously, by 9pm don't even THINK about touching me. I know she loves me and I cherish our time together and the closeness she craves, but REALLY - there's a limit to the in-your-face antics, the badgering class clown without a class and the endless neck-crushing hugs she bestows on me throughout her lessons. And that's when she's in a good mood.
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel though - and on day 179 you can bet all the Tylenol in the world that I will be running to the light and if you come looking for me, I will be rolling in the grass under the rainbow with a pitcher of margaritas and giggling like a mental patient. The bouncer at the gate will not be the warden keeping me in - for who in their right mind would leave such a paradise? - but drop-kicking all the whiners and pessimists and absolutely ANYONE under 30 right back to the dark hole they crawled out of. Walk a little farther in - in this paradise there is a white sand beach and crystal blue waters, bright sun and a light breeze, no Wii or chaotic car rides, no insulin pump changes and nobody telling me what I can't do. You might even see Jimmy Buffett playing Blue Heaven Rendevous or Fins. Mr. Reed Moore, Dr. Algae and Mrs. Triggle are welcome as long as they ditch the scholarly clothes and the cheesy chuckles.
These last 3 months have pushed me right to the edge of the cliff overlooking Happy Place, like the Grinch staring down at Whoville on Christmas. Cabin fever notwithstanding, Ava and I have been literally on top of each other with few opportunities for escape since before the New Year. One day she is enthusiastic and independent, but the remaining four (excluding weekends) she wraps herself around me like a boa constrictor and I am forced to peel her off of me and move away fast. I stand jealously by the door to my prison - where the inmates relentlessly pester me over lost tennis balls and chew toys, refuse to work up to potential and forever invade my personal space with constant demands for attention - watching my oldest child hop the bus to the promised land.
Meanwhile, I start video lessons with Ava and she immediately stops them to ask me some unrelated question or need to "get something upstairs." If she doesn't stop them she talks over them or sings little songs to herself, and I know she hasn't heard a word they said. I am constantly reprimanding her for interrupting lessons and stalling. She does enjoy the worksheets and special exercises - anything to break up the unpredictable routine. One thing we can count on here - unpredictability. The monotonous routine we began back in September, well, we needed to shake it up a little. Even sleep-challenged me was fighting the drooping lid syndrome on many a day - only further enhanced by my daughter's whiny voice and head-on-the-table behavior.
There are way too many days when she insists on sitting on my lap during lessons - for videos and even worksheets - that by the end of the day I have reached maximum saturation for physical contact. Seriously, by 9pm don't even THINK about touching me. I know she loves me and I cherish our time together and the closeness she craves, but REALLY - there's a limit to the in-your-face antics, the badgering class clown without a class and the endless neck-crushing hugs she bestows on me throughout her lessons. And that's when she's in a good mood.
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel though - and on day 179 you can bet all the Tylenol in the world that I will be running to the light and if you come looking for me, I will be rolling in the grass under the rainbow with a pitcher of margaritas and giggling like a mental patient. The bouncer at the gate will not be the warden keeping me in - for who in their right mind would leave such a paradise? - but drop-kicking all the whiners and pessimists and absolutely ANYONE under 30 right back to the dark hole they crawled out of. Walk a little farther in - in this paradise there is a white sand beach and crystal blue waters, bright sun and a light breeze, no Wii or chaotic car rides, no insulin pump changes and nobody telling me what I can't do. You might even see Jimmy Buffett playing Blue Heaven Rendevous or Fins. Mr. Reed Moore, Dr. Algae and Mrs. Triggle are welcome as long as they ditch the scholarly clothes and the cheesy chuckles.
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