Recap and Before and After

What a long 2 weeks! They have been a bit draining. Little B has entered that challenging stage that I remember all the children going through between the ages of 12-18 months. The stage where they want Mommy to hold them all the time, where they whine, where they get upset if they don't get what they want. Where you wonder if they have super human talents to get from point A to point B in lightening fast time and leave a wake of messes in their path. It is a time where Mommies must practice extra patience and often look at the clock wondering if it is nap time yet. We ushered in the New Year with the challenge of getting things back on track! It has felt so good but I have seen my short comings in the juggling act. I let distractions became a focus and take me away from my priorities.

I noticed a shift of behavior in my first born. It was an added source of frustration and I am sorry to say that I had become a bit blinded as to what was going on. He volunteered to Daddy in a discussion they were having that the only time he has with Mommy is when he is in trouble. OUCH! Looking back on the past two weeks, I would say that has been mostly true. I let getting back on track and a few distractions become more of a focus than loving, training, and fellowshipping with my children. I allowed seeds to take root that I should have weeded out immediately but instead I nurtured. I need to do right by the Lord, by what is written in His Word, following the path He has laid before me, no matter what the challenges or the discouragements or how much the world disagrees, accepting grace and repenting where I have fallen short.

And now...two funny girl stories. Evi has been struggling with waking up at night, scared. She came into our room scared of "something creepy" (which we later found out was her shadow). She said, "Daddy have gun? Daddy shoot bad guys, monsters, and creepy things?" We had to assure her that she is safe! Next, Jubilee wanted me to take care of Tiger's babies. I held out my hands and she placed several invisible babies in them which I took with me when I left the room. A short time later, Daddy turned out the lights and she started crying. After having her calm down so she could use words instead of tears. She conveyed that Mommy had Tiger's babies. I had her ask me politely for them back and I returned each invisible baby to her. She happily lay down for bedtime. Phil and I went to the playroom to laugh. How we love to laugh at the adorableness of our children and all the innocently funny things they do!

Finally, to sum up this long recap..I had the most delicious day yesterday! Yes, downright delicious. Phil took the children up to OMSI for the afternoon and while I was sad to not join them, I tackled the homeschooling boxes AND the file folder boxes filled with things I kept from my almost 7 years of being a school teacher. It was such a productive time and a great moment of moving forward! Plus, I had the whole house to spread out piles of paper, recycling, keepers, and Goodwill!


Homeschooling boxes before....

...And after. To be fair, I also made 4 additional workboxes where I divided up math manipulatives and other educational materials and toys. Some of the items made their way into these workboxes so technically, I can't say I went from 16 snap lids down to 6!


Empty boxes!


There were two whole file boxes filled with used empty hanging file folders and folders. Ummmm....I felt like I should be on an episode of Hoarders. Not to mention, there was a 3rd file box that contained NEW folders. Sheesh!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Boots

Image
Last week, was snowy and cold cold cold, then rainy.  I continued to work on getting the yard cleaned up.  I dug out the ponds and refilled the holes with dirt.  I loaded up rocks, pavers, and bricks.  I cleaned out the water features.  I collected the strawberry runners so I would have starts to plant.  I unloaded 2 loads of bark dust.  The children were a tremendous help.  They loaded an entire trailer of firewood all by themselves and then helped with another load of rocks and bricks.  I am amazed at how much there is to load and fix just in the yard alone.  It is a lot of work for the simple concept of "curb" appeal.   Waiting for the snow to melt so I can put down the bark dust. Even with two pairs of socks, my feet were freezing so I broke down and bought a pair of Muck Boots.  The funny thing is, 2 years ago, I really wanted to have a new pair of winter boots but I just couldn't justify paying so much money just to have ...
Read more

Then Came Dense Fog and the Thunderstorm

Image
Sunday, I woke up to a dense fog and smoke cover combination.  I think this is probably the densest fog I have ever been in. Before the sun came up, it was white.  Once it got lighter outside the smoke color showed through. On the porch, looking toward the swimming pool (North) but unable to see it or the goat barn or the walnut trees. On the porch, looking toward the barn, only able to see the garden before the parking area. Outside the window looking at the tree block, barely 30 feet away. I am not sure how I let Phil talk me into (trying) going to the store...but the fog was supposed to lift by 11:00 and we were scheduled to gather at the Rawie's for church and I needed ingredients to put together something for the potluck.  (We ended up having to cancel our homechurch.) Our mailbox, we couldn't see any cars, so we had to roll down the windows and listen.  I was already terrified at this point and didn't want to continue. After having to slam on his brakes multipl...
Read more

More Hats

Image
The Etsy shop is still a work in progress and unfortunately the name Over the Top is already taken.  I have been tossing around the names Tip Top and Whimsy.  I managed to get 7 hats made during the month of November.  I have a couple that I can put on Etsy when we are ready to list them and several Christmas hats made for the children.  I have been timing how long it takes me to make a hat and I am surprised (and not in a good way LOL) at the number of hours I spend.  A baby hat takes over 5-6 hours, a child's hat takes about 7-8 hours, and an adult hat 10 plus hours.  It takes even longer if I decide to tear out the stitching because it isn't looking the way I had imagined.  The more yarn variety I use, the longer it takes me to weave in the ends.  I usually spend over an hour just with a tapestry needle making all the ends secure.  Minimum wage plus materials puts the hats in the 50-80 dollar range.  Yikes!  I would never pay th...
Read more