We are Further Ahead Than We Feel

I opened up my blog this morning wondering what I would write about. So many thoughts going through my mind, but none of them seem complete or enough to fill a post.  I am also feeling a bit discouraged with the progress I am making with my ideals. Limiting screen time is proving to be harder then I thought it would be and funny, but the members of my family are determined to use their own agency and not follow everything I want them to do...hmm
Then I gazed over at my 101 goals down the side and noticed an amazing thing! There staring me right in the face are 3 goals all accomplished and I didn't even realize it!
As a parent I often feel like I am always playing catch up~ with house work, laundry, scrap books, laundry, meal prep, teaching important lessons to my children,  laundry, losing those "last" 25 lbs., giving my children enough quality time and there is ALWAYS laundry... in most aspects of my daily life I feel like I am constantly running behind.
I think I have mentioned it before but one of my favourite books is Mitten Strings for God by Katrina Kenison. I like to read it every few years just to help me refocus on what is important and where I need to be placing my time and energy. 
This work that I am doing as a mom is so important. There isn't anything else that fills this space for me. I had about 14 years of trying to fill the hole I felt in my heart before we opened our door to these sweet "Littles".  Now it is full to over flowing and I am content and happy.
BUT that does Not mean it is easy and unless we are looking it is hard to feel very accomplished. Let's face it many a morning my hair doesn't get brushed until... well I have to leave the house. (Some days that is not at all!). Many times I realize way too late that I have goopy hand prints on the front of my shirt where some little one has reached up to get my attention. Quite often the music going around in my head is Wheels on the bus or the theme song from the big Purple dinosaur and Not something from the latest record charts. And as I am writing this, every door knob in my house is sticky or crusted over and there are dishes in my sink...
But I spent a little extra time this morning giving warm snuggles to a little one just waking up, I helped trace little hands with purple crayon on sheets of paper, I listened to my Dear Mackenzie share her plans for the day, I looked through a book order form with a sweet boy and got excited about his favourites, I helped the "Littles" clean up a big jar of buttons and enjoyed finding ones that were sparkly or a favourite colour and remembered the joy of looking through my grandma's button jar. I have enjoyed arms being wrapped around my neck in hugs and kisses and witnessed big smiles and giggles...
So Maybe, just maybe I am not as far behind as I thought!

I hope you enjoy finding the accomplishments in your day, I plan to!

Boo Humbug!

I have a secret...
Halloween is not my favourite holiday. 
The year that we all caught the flu and had to stay home felt a little bit like a blessing.

Having to come up with costumes and then taking these little ones door to door to collect poison, I mean candy by the hand full so they can spend the next couple of weeks whining and crying and throwing themselves on the floor in hopes to consume the stuff before 7am just does NOT add up to fun for me. 
I know, Boo humbug.

I have tried everything, Offered a night out to the movies with a bag full of treats and popcorn, family bowling night, indoor waterslides... Nothing seems to equal the pull of dressing up and collecting free candy!
Thankfully it comes but once a year.  And who am I to deprive these sweet children of mine of the highs and lows that sugar brings??
So we have our costumes ~No, they are not themed, unless Old McDonald's farm have a puppy and bumble bee who are attacked by a large green dragon, has a kind nurse who comes to mend everyone back to health and  brings meals on wheels with her!! (Jacob and his wheel chair is covered with cut out food from the grocery store ads... Meals on Wheels!! oh yeah, it just came to me in the middle of the night!) 
And Yes, some are wearing the same costumes as last year.  And  yes, My dear daughter has warned be of the trauma this may cause in the future when looking through the scrapbooks!But it was their choice and they still fit! Win- win! Right?

So, We will carve the pumpkins, we will go door to door and we will fill the hugest bowl in the house with all of the candy.  I will be the one who eats the most and be moody for days to come because for some reason I seem to think the best way to deal with a problem such as this is to get rid of it!... By means of ingesting it... oh yeah, fun times!!
I hope that you enjoy your Halloween... I plan to try!
Boo humbug

PROJECT BUCKET LIST: Create a New Recipe for Supper

Our first bucket list project! 
Jacob LOVES to be in the kitchen.  He has been a helper for years. With hand over hand he can measure out ingredients and dump them into the bowl, stir and whisk like no other and of course he loves to be the official taste tester!
Now that he is 15 it seems only fitting that he take on more of a leading role in creating something delicious!  So here is his adventure in coming up with a new recipe for supper!!

We needed an idea for the protein portion of our meal.  Jacob's choices: fish, pork chops, chicken and stewing beef. Jacob chose pork chops and bacon... We went on line to see what other people were doing with their pork chops and Jacob decided that he wanted to stuff them!

He took a look in the fridge & cupboards then using his "yes" and "no" faces he picked out the ingredients for the stuffing!

Strawberries, spinach, parmesan cheese, feta cheese, cornbread stuffing (the kind that comes in a box!) and some Greek dressing.

The bacon he wanted to save to wrap around the whole thing!



Filling the Chops!

Ready to be wrapped in bacon!

Getting the bacon ready.



Checking to make sure Mom followed his instructions!



Ready for the Oven!!

 

They smelled amazing while they cooked! 
And what did the family think?
Yummy!  
Mackenzie really liked them, Dad ate his all gone, Nathan, our other "chef extraordinaire", thought they were "pretty good"!  And Mom... I think I would only use one of the cheeses next time, but they were yummy!!
Well done Jacob! I can't wait to taste your ice cream creation!!!

Breaking Away!

This last couple of months I have been bombarded by one idea... That I am addicted to "social" media.
I know, here I am sharing these thoughts on my blog, hoping to reach others through the very means of which I am frustrated.
Hmmm.
My dear Daughter had me listen to a talk on DVD by Hank Smith, "Breaking up with the World". He asks what are you willing to "break up" with to become who you want to be? So I made a list, first of who I want to become...

• Play the Piano 30 minutes a day
• Learn to speak French
• Stop eating sugar and gain a healthy weight
• get outside everyday
• de clutter my home
• have a thriving blog
• Live in the moment with my children
• Give my Little children the same advantages aka. my time, as I did my big children.
• Create everyday
• Fill my days with people I love- the real people not their profile
• Go on adventures with my family... maybe even weekly!
• Read good books

The list goes on and on. I am tired of feeling that I don't have time... I do have time, I am just giving it away to technology. Something that gives very little back.
I have tried to put my finger on the why and the how.  How did I get here why do I give in over and over. Well there is some science behind it. I am not going to get into it right now but it is an addiction.  It does give us a kind of rush.  I know that in the middle of a crazy day I am drawn to the numbness of rearranging candy or even vegetables on a board. Scrolling through the pictures of another's life seems rewarding some how. Almost as good as living it myself. Scary and so sad. But when the house is a mess and others are pulling me in every direction, zoning out has it's charms
I remember 'way back when' watching a T.V sitcom about a pair of glasses that would give you a virtual experience. Seemed far fetched at the time... isn't that what we do everyday?  Live our lives vicariously through another's profile, a movie on Netflix or the tweets and twitters that zoom past us?

So here is a list of what I am willing to let go of, break up with and move away from

• Daily use of Netflix
• Games that don't include real people sitting around my table
• Checking my cell phone more then 2x a day
• Sugar and processed food

Not a very big list to gain my dreams is it?
I have a quote on my wall that my son said to me a few months ago,

"The only difference between a dream and a goal is waking up!" -Nathan Wynder-

So I am choosing to wake up. I am breaking away from the pull of numbness and choosing to live my real life... What ever that might look like! I hope to share it right here. Keeping myself on track and maybe encouraging others along the way!
I hope you will join me along the way!

New Beginnings!

There has been so much going on I don't even know where to begin.
Much of my time has been consumed with being a mom!  I LOVE being a mom and find so much joy in watching these little... and not so little ones, grow and learn. 
Nathan has graduated from high school... I am so not ready for this but ready or not it is happening.  I did have the joy of travelling with him to the Grand Canyon and Arizona- an adventure I will cherish forever. Now he is doing his best to navigate his way through making his own dreams come true!
Our dear Mackenzie is on a grand adventure of her own... in Europe!  A world traveller... wonder where that came from!!  
It has been amazing to hear about all of her exciting moments half way around the world.  In fact I am hopeful that I can figure out how to have her do a few posts of her own.
Jacob has been doing so dreaming of his own!  I have added a new page- Project: Bucket List.  For all of the details check it out! 
He has also used his PODD book (a book used in communication) to let me know that he wants to do what the others are doing. So we are off on an adventure of our own- a camping trip to the William Watson Lodge. I will fill you in as it happens. I love that he knows what he wants and is finding a way to let us know.
The other little ones are having adventures of their own. Lots of summer fun.  Watching them discover new skills like graduating from a tricycle, learning to love water and climb stairs is a delight. I find myself enjoying every moment I am blessed to be with them.
 
I even had the opportunity to get away on a journey of my own with my dear Husband in May. Exploring Greece and Venice was amazing... a check on my own bucket list! 

And that about sums up the whirl wind of our past year. I am excited to be back and ready to begin again!  I love new beginnings, fresh starts! 
I hope you will come along with us and begin again on this grand adventure!

I am Still Here!

Wow! Nine months is a long time to be away from a blog!
It's been a crazy time. We have become foster parents!! And although I can't share specifics I can say WOW!!! We are caring for 3 little ones three years and under!! I love it and yet it is the hardest thing I have yet to do.  I am exhausted and our house is CRAZY!!  Over night...actually it was within an hour we doubled our family!  Boy do I feel OLD! I have been asked many times if they are my GRANDCHILDREN!  (Yes, I am looking into a new skin care program!!) I am discovering that having children in your twenties is a little different then having them in your... umm 30's, okay late thirties. But I am NOT 40 yet!!
It can make it trickier but it does have some benefits too.
For instance, I think that my "big" kids got the fun, crazy, adventurous mom!  We would climb to the roof late at night to watch meteor showers and they each had an "Adventure backpack" full of treats, bug jars, binoculars and everything else you might need to explore this great world around us!  But the little ones have a calmer, more self confident mom.  I don't worry so much about what the neighbours think of my parenting, I don't second guess everything I do.  I don't stress the little stuff either. 
~You made a huge mess with your chocolate pudding all over the table?  Well, messy play builds brains don't you know??!!~
I am hoping I will be able to find the energy for balance, to add some of the adventurous mom back into the mix. I do kind of miss her! But wow, I miss my SLEEP too! Starting my day anywhere between 5:30 and 7:00 is a bit new for me and my teens still want to be out until curfew, yes I said UNTIL CURFEW... don't they know how hard it is for me to stay up to see them home?? My dear daughter came home the other night and had a whole conversation with me about her night out.  I don't remember it at all. :( Poor girl, she had a good LAUGH though in the morning when I asked her why she didn't check in before going to bed!!


Speaking of  laughing, have you had the chance to watch the movie Mom's Night Out?  It is a MUST see!!  I went with a couple of my girl friends to see it.  We have never laughed so hard.  It was hysterical! Then near the end, I wondered if I was going to be able to stop crying before they turned the lights back on. It was so right on it was amazing.  In fact I may have to get in touch with the writers and ask them for my cut in the profits for using my words!!! ;) There is a point where the mom asks her husband what he dreamt of being when he grew up.  Then she says something like... I dreamt of this, right down to the mini van! I have had that exact conversation with my dear husband.  I highly recommend taking the time to see it!  I want to buy a bunch copies and send them to every mom I know!  It was that good.  The Trailers on Youtube!


Sorry I digress, I guess what I am saying is this, I am back if for no other reason then to try to keep myself sane.  Writing seems to do that for me.  I am also so grateful for all of the sweet people in my life especially the little ones that I have been praying to have in my life for so long.  I love the cuddles and snuggles, the giggles and the hugs.  I even love the screaming and the crazy.  I wish I was better at it and had more patience.  This job of Motherhood is HARD!!! But oh so worth it!  So, I will keep on keeping on.  Trying to find the JOY in it all.  Hoping I can give them as much as they are give tome. 
I hope you have a joyful day, I hope to!

Hey It's All About You!

I just spent a wonderful afternoon with a dear friend.  She is one I can share my dreams and aspirations with, she will listen to my ramblings and my grumblings and still loves me.  She is a true friend.  I am so grateful for her.
She invited me to attend a luncheon with her where we listened to a presentation on brain development and how children's brains are affected by toxic stress and about the importance of nurturing relationships in the healthy development of our little ones.  What we once thought to be so is changing.  We are understanding more and more on the amazing abilities of our minds.
That was very exciting and I enjoyed the yummy lunch (best crème brule I have ever had!) but the real fun came in getting dressed in "grown up" clothes- no goop or stains. And enjoying the company of other adults. Adults I look up to as leading in their fields AND some of them even knew my name!  Yup it was a great afternoon! 
Then as I was leaving I realized something even more astonishing.  The reason that all of those people where gathered together talking about early childhood and brain development was because they are trying to help grow happy, healthier FAMILIES!  Guess who is at the heart and soul of that...yup you guessed it us parents.  Me the Mom!  They were all there sharing what they knew to help me be a better mother to my dear children. 
Isn't it funny how we (Maybe you don't) think that parenthood is less then dressing up in "grown up" clothes, having fancy meals, having adult conversations and contributing to the "real" world?  I am hear to tell you that today I discovered that the "real" world exists so that families can be happy, healthy and together.  Is this a bold statement? Maybe, but take a look at it with me.  Farmers and grocery stores~ so I can feed my children; teachers and schools~ to help me educate my children; wind turbine technicians and other power companies~ so I can keep my children warm and comfortable; amusement parks~ for our entertainment and to help build memories; photographers, hair dressers, fashion designers, pilots... Yup all to help the family look good, be together and capture memories. I am sure that you could come up with some profession that doesn't directly tie into keeping the family happy, healthy and together, but I would suggest that those exist because of the lack of family togetherness, good health and happiness. So if you are a parent and you have a day where the baby won't stop crying, you are covered in goop that you can't identify and you wonder if you will ever stop sticking to the floor and you ask your self why? Just remember you are doing the most important work there is to do! Have a wonderful goopy day! I plan to! Here is the link to the family wellness initiative. They put on the seminar! www.albertfamilywellness.org