All hands on deck...summer bucket list revival time!

We come with beautiful secrets

 

We come with purposes written on our hearts, written on our souls.

 

We come to every new morning with possibilities only we can hold.

 

Redemption comes from strange places, small spaces

 

Calling out the best of who we are

 

I want to add to the beauty

 

To tell a better story........

*I do not know the author

I do not want my story to be:

get up...hustle bustle, work, pick up kids, hustle bustle, home, supper, hurry up play, bath, bed. Repeat.  

This is not the story I want.

 

This is not the "storybook childhood" that I want my kids to reminisce about some day.

When my kids are all grown I want something like the smell of fresh cut grass to take them back to a time and place of pure happiness, where memories come flooding back of "good times" traipsing  through a sprinkler in the front yard or of under doggies in the back yard.  I want them to be able to sit around after I am long gone and say "remember when...." which would then end in smiles and a lot of laughter!

 

So this is my story right.

This is my kids' story.

I am the author.

I am writing this story and I am going to try to add some new chapters again this summer.

We've been in survival mode thus far but it is time to shake things up a bit!

 

Change can be very hard, so I may not accomplish everything but change can also be invigorating....its go time baby!

You make me wanna roll my windows down and cruise...

1. Make smores over a camp fire.

2. Go jet skiing or at least get back on a tube behind a boat!

3. Trip to the zoo

4. Salt Dogs Game

5. Get to the pool once a week (That's setting the bar pretty high!)

6. "Jack-up" the swing set.

7. Throw a summer bash/bbq

8. Have spontaneous weekend get togethers (we did one! Whoop!)

9. Take the kids on a picnic (any good ideas on where?!)

10. Make homemade ice cream.

11.Find a summer dress that "works" (I may need back up on that one)

12. Surprise ambush water fight on the kids!

I feel compelled to maybe add or edit but I seem to lacking some mojo or something....

I need something with a lil more "bang"....

hmmm

Maybe I need to start an adult bucket list and then a family bucket list!

perhaps...

perhaps...

If you read this you better leave a summer bucket list idea

I am so not above stealing someone else's idea!

*insert sly smile here*

'tis the season

I don't see myself as beautiful, because I can see a lot of flaws. People have really odd opinions. They tell me I'm skinny, as if that's supposed to make me happy.

Angelina Jolie

It's that time of year.

You know the time...

the time when you are suppose to expose more of your mom body than any other time of the year.

Mother Nature was more than kind this year,

allowing me to wear cardigans and layers into June!

God Bless you Mother Nature!

Delaying the inevitable.

Shorts.

Tank tops.

Heck even t-shirts (no joke)!
AND

*Gasp*

Swim suits!
{collective moan}

Let's be honest its not like I ever had some rockin hot model body

but the three baby belly bulge...

lil not cool!

(Spare me the lectures on diet and exercise that's a whole other post! As well as the lectures on "you just had a baby give yourself time" Puh-lease! Tell that to the wet spandex clinging to my body! )

Any summer (not just this approaching one)

I have to gear up mentally.

A recent discussion got me back on the mental prep bandwagon!

I vowed after having Cohen that my kids would not miss out on summer fun

like swimming because of my insecurities.

When I think back to my childhood....

my parents were always the ones who got in the pool

and swam with us!

I can remember seeing other moms

just sitting on the side and thinking to myself

"how boring."

I vowed not to be that mom!

To this day....my parents still make the choice to

dive in

*literally*

Moments captured at Leah's birthday party just last year!

Kudos to you mom and dad!

I am sure they could both make a long list of "valid" reasons why:

1. They don't swim

2. They do not do the diving board.

Instead they both continue to make the choice to say

I'm going to jump in!

Live this one crazy beautiful life I've been given.

Why not?!

Do you think someday when reminiscing my kids will care

what Grandma looked like in her swimsuit?

I highly doubt it!

I cannot ever once remember thinking...gee mom/dad should not wear that swimsuit, she/he should just sit on the side of the pool.

So that is where my mental summer prep begins...

when post belly bulge doubt creeps in

I say to myself...

will my kids remember the squishy tummy

under the suit

or the fact that you were the "the" mom that got in.

Sitting on the side in clothes that hide my insecurities,
hair and make up in tact...
that doesn't make memories.

In the happiest of our childhood memories, our parents were happy, too.  ~Robert Brault, www.robertbrault.com

Self talk
self talk
self talk

so
close your eyes and
....and jump in!

When in doubt, make a fool of yourself.  There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth.  So what the hell, leap.  ~Cynthia Heimel

confessional

Parenting Confessional #7941

 

Goes a little like this:

 

I had to work late and Cohen had baseball practice so we rolled back into the house last night around 7:45, exactly 12 hours after walking out of it.

 

Mark is gone, making bedtime a one man game!

 

I say to the kids "get your pajamas on bedtime is coming quick" 

They cordially agree.

They request to watch a movie. I say it may be better to read books because there is not a lot of time as it is almost 8 by this point.

They convince me that after 10 minutes of a movie they will happily shut it off and go to bed.

They win.

Start the movie.

 

My observation:  Wow they are sitting very quietly and nicely perhaps

I can still get Benson's bath in!

My Action:  Hey Cohen and Kadence, you are both sitting so nicely and quietly that I am going to let you watch your movie an extra 15 minutes while I give Benson a bath but when we come out it is time for bed. No whining about shutting it off ok? "ok" they agree!

 

Finish bath.

Shut off movie.

Tuck into bed.....goes like this:

Me: Ok tonight mommy was nice and let you watch a movie AND mommy let you watch your movie extra long AND let you stay up late since you were sitting so nicely, so what are you going to do for me tonight?

Kadence responds by laying down and pretending to snore and sleep and Cohen says go to sleep without messing around!  EXACTLY I agree.

Benson at this point is starting to voice his opinion that he is also tired and hungry.

Hugs and Kisses

Last reminder: What do we do at bedtime?

 Response: Lay down! No talking! Go to Sleep!  yes yes yes! Good response.

 

Make a bottle.

Sit down.

Attempt to put Benson to bed....

 

The whispering starts.......

 

Then the giggling........

Then a little louder talking.....

 

Is that jumping? Are they jumping from bed to bed?!

 

Benson has the eye fluttering almost asleep vibe going on...

 

Out comes one kid "mom can I have a drink?"

Out comes the next kid "mom I'm hungry."

 

Go to bed!

 

Out comes one kid "Mom I need to tell you something."

 GO TO BED 

Out comes the next kid "mom I need to tell you something."

GO TO BED! NO WAIT GO GET IN MY BED NOW!

 

For the next 15 mins, said kid in my bed is saying over and over....

I need to tell you something. I need to tell you something. I need to tell you something. I need to tell you something., I need to tell you something. I need to tell you something. I need to tell you something. I need to tell you something. I need to tell you something. I need to tell you something. I need to tell you something...

 

Yup Benson is out,

finally gives into sleep

 which has eluded the poor thing since his cold and ear infection drama....

 

Out comes one kid......"mom I'm cold."

by the look on my face said kids goes scurrying back to the bedroom

 

I lay Benson down.

 

Go in the bedroom. Grab said kid's arm. "Help" her into bed....Cover her up....saying something close to this: THIS IS RIDICULOUS! OF COURSE YOU'RE COLD YOU ARE NOW WEARING A BIKINI AND YOU WERE LAYING ON THE FLOOR! GET IN BED NOW AND GO. TO. SLEEP. I AM SO MAD RIGHT NOW! RIDICULOUS! Rant rant Rant

 

Head to my room and continue the rant there.......

RIDICULOUS. WHEN I PUT YOU TO BED IT IS TIME FOR BED. NOT TIME TO SCREW AROUND! I AM SO MAD RIGHT NOW! I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW YOU ARE BEHAVING...YA KNOW WHAT YOU ARE SO GROUNDED FOR NOT LISTENING AT BEDTIME. YOU WILL NOT BE MOWING TOMORROW BECAUSE YOU JUST LOST THAT RIGHT BECAUSE YOU. DID. NOT LISTEN. UGH RIDICULOUS! possibly some other crazy rantings carried on...

 

(***he's been begging to mow but it keeps raining so we had said maybe tomorrow***)

 

At this point it is dead silence.

 

or perhaps scared silence.....*just sayin

 

This is the moment when as a parent you turn around and walk out knowing that you completely overreacted to the situation and that it could have been handled much better but emotion got in the way...yeah that moment.  Sigh.

Shake my head at myself.

Promise to do better tomorrow....

 

I head over to Cohen's backpack to clean out his homework folder that comes home on Wednesdays and here it is :

 

 

Yeah.

Instant Tears!

Classic!

Really?!

Like I pulled this out less than 5 minutes from the over dramatic not so good parenting ranting!  *thanks God! You're one funny man sometimes!

Funny Funny man!

 

Then to make it worse I keep going....

only to pull out  this!

 

 

Yeah.

 

Yup.

 

Classic.

 

I got nothing!

 

Classic!

I will do better......

I must....

...do better!