Summer?

I am starting to feel like I no longer experience "seasons".  Days just mash into each other, and time is flying!  Slow down, I say!!  I was getting my children ready for school this morning, and it hit me like a ton of bricks how fast they have grown.  The baby stages, all gone.  My oldest is in his first week of "Middle School".  Wow, that went fast.  Though my memories are all still clear of him and his paci days.  He would have that paci in his mouth, and his woobie wrapped around his neck whilst charging through the house looking for his trucks, or chasing Montana, our beloved Golden retriever who has since left us.  I'm actually amazed at how fast my life is going.

Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying them in every stage, but I would be lying if I said I didn't miss when he still liked to call me Mommy rather than just Mom.  When before they could crawl or walk holding them, feeding them, smelling their baby fine hair.  Rubbing my nose in their heads while they lay on my chest napping.  Running to me when a boo boo could only be healed with a kiss.  Those days go by in the blink of an eye, and I never realized it until now.  Forgive me for feeling quite nostalgic, it was just one of those days where my memories came rushing in and I felt a little sad that those days are long gone now.  If only I had appreciated that time more rather than just being a busy mom with 2 in diapers while one was potty training.  I was so overwhelmed when they were babies because they were all so young together, I don't know if I took enough time to appreciate it and relish those moments.  I feel like I'm relishing in them more now that they are gone.  I guess that's why there's a saying about missing things more when they are gone.

I love being a Mother.  I truly love it, and am not sure I was meant to do anything but.  I feel so comfortable in this position.  I feel important being someone's Mom.  I take my job very seriously.  All aspects, from toilet cleaning duty to the only one who knows how to make the pb & j's just right.  Just enough p with the perfect amount of j.  But I can't help but think of how quickly these years will be going, and I just want to hit the pause button and enjoy it more.  We get so busy with school, homework, grocery shopping, working a full day, showers, getting everything ready for the next day, then starting all over again that Monday through Friday are usually just a blur.  I just want to focus on them and soaking up as much as I can before it's time for them to spread their wings and fly the nest.  They are still young enough to want to hang with Mom, but are just at that age where I'm starting to be on the verge of embarrassing them with way too many kisses at the bus stop.  Way too many questions about what happened in school today, and continuing to press because I'm only getting "nothings" and it was ok rather than exciting details. 

Well, I guess the moral of this story is, I need to slow down.  It's way to easy to get caught up in the stressful events of the day, and the what we need to get done.  I want to be able to say when I'm older and alone at home that I spent as much quality time with my 3 children as I could.  I can't believe how easy that is to say rather than just do.  Yes, I spend most of my waking time 'with' them.  I'm really interested in quality over quantity at this point.  Reading books together, watching movies together, running around outside playing tag.  Teaching them some of my favorite games I played as a child has been a new favorite for all of us.  They love to hear stories of what happened when I was their age, and what I did for fun, then try it out themselves.  I truly hope that I am able to give them the best that I can give them, with what they need, and what they deserve as my children. 

Thank you for listening.... God bless

Happy 4th Of July!

I swear every time I pay notice another month has passed!  I love this month so much.  The kids are out of school, and full swing into camp.  The weather finally starts to act like summer, and I just love it all.  My favorite part of summer, is summer nights.  I love the sounds, the smells, the temperature.  I love the fact that it's light until 9pm.  I love the laid back atmosphere, and I love July because it's our official start to summer period.  My two children Ayden and Annelyse both have birthdays in July.  My youngest Ayden turns 6 today.  He's still convinced that America celebrates HIS birthday, and the fireworks are for HIM only.  I just love that.  It's so cute to listen to his reasoning, and to see his excitement when he watches fireworks and such.  I'm a little nostalgic this year because he is my baby, and he is growing so fast.  Although, I am really enjoying each new phase that comes along with them growing older.  He has his first real best friend, and I just adore watching that as it develops.  It's very heartwarming when you see them blossom and become their own person.  He's a boys boy.  He loves all things outdoors, and all things boy.  Dirt, bugs, bikes, balls, running, jumping, hiding, laughing, yelling, singing, dancing, swimming, and just getting into whatever he can find.  He literally taught himself how to ride a two wheel bike without training wheels and every single time I watch him ride his bike I am more and more amazed at how sturdy he is, and how well he learned to manipulate the bike itself. 

The biggest thing about Ayden is he has zero fear.  He could fall off of his bike 20 times, but will get up dust off, make sure there is no blood and carry on.  Nothing dampers his excitement, and his pure joy for living life.  It's refreshing, and just beautiful.  I am so very proud of him, and all 3 of my children for that matter.

My daughter turns 8 this month as well.  I am still not sure where the last 7 years have gone, but she has also blossomed into her own beautiful little person.  She is quite sassy that one, and yet she has a very sweet, sensitive side to her as well.  The two traits combined lead us to fire and ice as I like to refer it.  LOL She can literally turn from laughing and silliness to mad and ready to fight her brothers in seconds flat!  It amazes me every time she does it.  One thing I hope for is that as the three of them grow up, they will become less of the bickering siblings and more of the friends and siblings I would hope to see.  That happened with my sister and I, we are 6 years apart, and as children we didn't see eye to eye, and I annoyed my sister quite often.  However flash forward to our early 20's, and we were the best of friends, and still are today.  So I am hoping that will also happen with all 3 of my children.

I wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday today, and a safe, wonderful summer ahead!!

Blessings and Smiles!

My Favorite things...

Beautiful mornings, with a tasty cup of coffee.  Being able to enjoy it without gulping.

Summer vacation.  Love having my babies home and not having to rush them off to school in the morning.  Love the sun, and the lazy days they can enjoy.  Love the summer nights when we can sit outside and enjoy the lightning bugs and the cool breeze.  The smell of the air, the beauty the summer brings.

Music and all the beautiful things it makes me feel.

Family dinners, with my whole family, my sisters, my mom my nieces and nephews.  Sitting around the table laughing ourselves silly.

Talking to my mother.  No matter where or when, or how she's always there to make me laugh, or smile, or cry with happiness.  She's my voice of reason, she's my shoulder to cry on, she's my best friend, she's my hero, she's my idol, and she loves me for me.  Just me.  Never having to be anything but me in front of her, whether it's my super silly side or my over emotional side.  The most important she thinks I'm really, really funny.

My childrens way of telling me they love me.  We could be in the middle of cleaning up or in the middle of our Sunday dinner at the diner and they will just blurt out an I Love you MOM! Or my son with say he has a secret and give me a kiss on the cheek.  I just got a note today for no reason at all from my 5 year old telling me that he loves me more then all the stars in the sky.  That's alot!

Lazy days.  Being able to stay in your sweats and comfy tshirt, fluffy socks or slippers.  Hang out on the couch or at the computer.  Eat a few naughty snacks, talk for a longer amount of time on the phone... Cuddle with my lovebugs.  Not a care in the world.

My dog Coco.  I just love her to bits!

The sky, and all the beauty it offers every second of every day.

Taking pictures.  Seeing a moment through the lens of my camera and capturing that moment forever.  The part of the sky that I caught 5 months ago that never came back again, but I can see every day through the picture that I took and I can remember just how I felt when I took it.  Just what I was looking for when I put my eye to the camera.  Taking pictures encaptures bits and peices of my life and allows me to hold on to them forever.  I love that.

My home.  The beauty of the wood, the joy it brings us all, the way it keeps us safe and together.
The love I have inside of it, and the life it brings me because it's my home.

Being a Mother.  Just being a Mother is one of the most wonderful and amazing and favorite parts of my life.