A doozy of a day.

Well, today has been quite another doozy. Yesterday, (if you read my last post) consisted of taking my two boys to the doctor. For illnesses. Today consisted of taking Mary Grace. With 104.3 temp. Very stressful. My mommy mode kicked in overtime. I cleaned up puke 4 times (once as we were walking out to go to the doctor's appointment). I cuddled, I stressed, I comforted, I loved. And I. Am. Spent.

Moving on.....

I have discovered my love for cooking. Considering 11 years ago, when I became a homeowner and married, I didn't even know how to boil an egg. Or make tea. Or even use salt and pepper properly. My Mama had spoiled me. Rotten.

Now I love to cook. And experiment. Food no longer intimidates me. My oven, however, does. Piece of junk. But hey, I'm thankful for an oven. Period.

I'm also thankful for my beautiful new stand mixer. Right before Christmas, Kohl's had an amazing sale. I have been drooling over those fancy KitchenAid stand mixers for YEARS. But, dang! They are pricey. Finally, I caught a sale hard to beat: $100 off original price ($449 original price at Kohl's). I had $10 in Kohl's cash. KitchenAid was offering a mail in rebate for $30. I had a 20% off coupon. And I'm a member of ebates. Which mailed me a check for $16 cash back. And I received $50 in Kohl's cash for my purchase. I love my mixer. Looooove.

And I love to cook. My goal is to be just like Miss Kay on Duck Dynasty. Whip up a good, southern meal at the drop of a hat. And love every minute of it!!!! After all, you just aren't a true southern belle unless you know how to please your man through his stomach! At least, that's my philosophy.

A day in the life......

Please forgive me for saying what I'm about to say. Because I'm about to sound like an ungrateful person. Which in reality, I'm not. I realize I have an abundance of blessings. In every aspect of my life. I have a beautiful, healthy family, a nice home, a job I love and enjoy, and most importantly, grace and mercy from my beautiful Savior.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way.......

I just want to say: I totally understand why women fought for themselves to have a place in the 9 to 5 workforce and wanted their voices to be heard. I totally understand why women wanted a career, period. Because being a mommy and a wife is a full. Time. Job. (Hallelujah, can I get a witness?!)

Just today for instance:

Alarm.
Snooze.
Alarm.
Snooze.
Alarm.
Get up.
Shake spouse awake.
Make coffee.
Yell at husband to get out of bed.
Sugar and cream my coffee.
Harass husband again.
Wake 8 year old.
Harass husband to get up. Again.
Put breakfast on a plate for 8 year old (premade muffins that I made Sunday night)
Harass husband. Again.
Make lunches.
Put a snack in 8 year old's backpack.
First sip of coffee.
Gather trash for garbage day.
Argue with 8 year old over what shoes he will wear to school.
Say goodbyes to husband and child.
Have a little quiet time. (Miracles still occur).
Pray.
Read some more devotionals.
Call doctor.
Wait for callback.
Take quick shower before one year old wakes up. (Another miracle today).
Other 2 children wake up.
Breakfast.
More coffee.
Start a load of laundry.
Nurse calls back, schedules appointment.
Get out stack of coupons.
Start clipping.
And clipping.
And clipping.
Change poopy diaper.
Throw clothes in drier.
Wash another load of clothes.
Clip some more.
Organize coupons.
Make lunch.
Feed lunch.
Check 8 year old out of school.
Realize his father let him wear the shoes after all. The ones we were arguing about.....
Doctor.
Fill the van up with gas. For $3.06. The last place in town with gas that cheap.
Get home.
Argue with children.
Argue with children.
Argue with children.
(No, my computer is not broken.)
Start supper.
Fold laundry.
Put away laundry.
Get back to supper.
Spill chicken broth. Everywhere. It's the great flood of 2013.
Clean up mess.
Cuss word.
Cuss word.
Cuss word.
Argue with children.
Bathe one year old.
Tackle one year old to get pj's on.
Check on supper.
Argue with children.
Start planning next week's menu and grocery list. And coupon list.
Husband home.
More chaos.
Eat supper.
Argue with children.
Clean up kitchen.
Clean up some more.
Brush children's teeth.
Devotion.
Prayer with children.
Argue with children.

And that is just a taste of today. Without any juicy details. Like when I had a notion to hide in my closet, curl up in the fetal position, suck my thumb, and shoot tequila.

I mean, really. I work outside of the home too. And I bust my hind-end at work. Seeing patients every 15-30 minutes is hard work. Ninety percent of my job is socializing and showing compassion to the patients we treat. And sometimes it wears me slap out. But honestly, my job as a mom, and the other 5 days a week I have the privilege of being at home, it is a never ending job. No sick days. No vacation. No lunch hour. Heck, not even bathroom breaks...... (If you pee, they will find you......)

My hat is off to full time working moms. Truly, you are a WOMAN. And I understand why the women had such a liberation movement in the 60's and 70's. They needed an easier job than being home with a bunch of needy souls.

And a disclaimer: before you make me out to be a bad mother.... I truly am grateful for the opportunity God has given me to be with my children at home. I wouldn't trade it for any job in the world. And I am blessed to have a part time job that I adore, a boss I adore, and a paycheck to boot. I realize how blessed I am. And that I have a mother around to help me with my children while I'm at work.

My point is: being a mom and a wife is the hardest job we as women are called to do. But I'm grateful for the challenge.

90th birthday

This weekend we had a surprise party for Chad's grandmother. It was the big 9-0. This lady is remarkable. She could get around better than I could most days. She even babysat for us on occasion. She was a social butterfly at the apartments where she lived. She only had to take one pill a day for blood pressure. However, this summer (on July 4), her oldest daughter, Chad's aunt, passed away in a very, very tragic and freak accident. Very unexpected. Ever since then Chad's grandmother has been in declining health. She's become very frail and was in and out if the hospital before Christmas. The grieving process has been very overwhelming for her. She now lives with Chad's parents and cannot take care of herself. But we are glad she's around for another birthday. I love her like my own grandmother.

The pictures are of her party. Most of her grandkids and great grandkids live in Alabama, and they came to surprise her. I was so glad we were able to get a picture of all them with her.

The truth....

I. Love. This. Been there, done that. Life lesson! The end.

Randoms

Yesterday when Chad picked Brennan up from piano lessons, his music teacher told Chad she has never been around a happier, smiling child. She said Brennan just loves to smile and laugh. He smiles at everything. Ummmm..... I'm pretty sure he does NOT get that from me..... That would be his father coming out in him. I'm a happy person, but I'm also brutally honest. Another trait that gets worse with time. Actually, I'm sure most would say I'm a pessimist. I just say I don't sugar coat things.

Ethan, however is definitely my child. Temper for days. Mary Grace too. I'm afraid I've left my mark in their personalities.

Yesterday we had some problems with some older kids on our street. They roam the neighborhood looking like thugs and looking for trouble. There's two of them. They came in our yard and tried to take another boy's bicycle that was over playing with Brennan. One of them pushed Brennan into our rosebush. He was scraped and bruised. It hurt his feelings more than the physical damage. He cried. Ethan said he wanted a stick to go hit them in their knees. Or a bat. And he would have if my mom hadn't gotten hold of them first. (I was at work). Big difference in my two boys. It's amazing how kids can come from the same parents and be so different.

Back to piano, I think Brennan has definitely found a niche. I was so worried after we invested in a new piano and lessons that Brennan would be tired of it by Christmas. But he has excelled. Not to brag by any means. But it makes me so proud. He didn't like sports and he wasn't assertive playing sports. However he loves music. His teacher says he is now being promoted to a hymn book. Instead of just his regular lesson books. Money well invested for us this year!

Ethan starts soccer again next week. That kid is not afraid of anyone or anything. He's already asking about baseball and football. Every time we pass the high school football field (which is everyday because we live behind it) he says very loudly and proudly, "I'm going to play football!"

Anyway, enough about us. I'm going to try and post a few recipes, or links to recipes that I've tried recently. We have only spent money on a dinner out once in the past few weeks and that's only be side we had a groupon that was about to expire. I'm really enjoying this cooking everyday thing. It's so nice to not have to stress about what to do for dinner at 6:00 every evening.

Definitely me, below! (I love ecards!) And I'm pretty sure my attitude gets worse with age.

Organization....

 Let's be honest here...... I am so unbelievably unorganized I should have my own support group.... Something like "Disorganized Anonymous".  Seriously.  It's ridiculous.  I'm not a hoarder or a pack rat.  As a matter of fact, I'm a firm believer in File 13 (the TRASH!).  But I just can't ever get my stuff together.  ANY of it! I won't even tell you what the inside of my van looked like a month ago.  Or what the inside of my purse looks like now.  However, with all that being said..... I am slowly trying to turn over a new leaf.  That was my New Year's Resolution.  Organization.  Come to think of it..... that's been my resolution for the past 3 years.  This time, however, I decided to take it a tiny step at a time instead of jumping in full force and being overwhelmed.  I'm sort of getting my toes wet, per se.  My goal is to organize one room a month this year.  Ever since I had kid #3 it seems like things have gotten out of control.  I don't know what it is about that magic #3.  So anyway, little by little as I try to get my life house organized and in check, I figured I would share it on my blog.  For any other mom who feels overwhelmed, helpless, unorganized. 

For instance.... the picture above, of the black shelf.... this, my friends, has become my lifesaver of sorts.  We have one in our garage (with more eventually to follow), one in the laundry room (it's so spacious it holds extra snacks, diaper bags and purses, as well as laundry baskets), and we have one in each of the kids closets.  We have 4 bedrooms in our house.  The children's bedrooms are very small.  We have to get creative with how we store things and manage their junk toys.  I swear, these shelves are simply awesome.  Affordable and spacious.  And. Just. Plain. Awesome. You can store baskets of toys, books, clothes, ect.  The possibilities  are ENDLESS! They also come in different heights and the shelves are adjustable.

I'm telling you.... from one mother to the next.... if you are looking for organization of any kind in a closet or room, or garage, run, don't walk to your nearest Wal-Mart or Home Depot.

 Next we have my bathroom.  Sigh.  I have a tiny little tornado toddler who is into EVERYTHING.  Holy cow.  I had two boys and then a girl for #3.  She  makes up for everything her brothers never did.  Needless to say, I try to keep a lot of things out of her reach.  (A very daunting task!)  I don't know why, but I feel so much better when things are contained.  As in a basket or plastic bin or container.  Not only does it look nicer, but you can easily put it away when company comes over.  For instance, above ^^^^^^ I have all of my hair products, deodorant, and jewelry holders in one basket.  It just doesn't make the counter look as cluttered.  And I can hide it easily if I know a guest will be seeing my bathroom.  (Which rarely happens, but hey, it makes me feel better!)

 This was my greatest idea EVER!  I stole this from my pack rat child who was not using this.  My mom bought it for him to store art supplies or Legos or something.  Needless to say, it sat empty.  So I stole it.  It is the most amazing form of storage for makeup.  Everything fits so nicely into it.  And I store it away in my bottom cabinet in the bathroom under my sink. (That was a redundant sentence, wasn't it?!)

Blogger (as ALWAYS) mixed up my pictures as I loaded them.... but below you can see the individual drawers. 

This is my husband's side of the sink ^^^^^^  Things we try to keep our of reach of our tornado toddler.  It just makes me feel better seeing it all in a container. 

 One makeup drawer^^^^^^ my eye bling

 This is our pantry.  Go figure.... Blogger skips from bathroom to kitchen, back to bathroom.... whatever, I digress.....

I don't know if you have boys, but BOY can they eat.  So I decided to tackle a new tactic.  Doling out snacks a few days at a time. (With the reserves being conveniently kept in our laundry room on our industrial shelf!)  If they consume all this within a few days, that's it.  Cry me a river.  You don't get anymore until I decide it's close enough to payday again time to dole out some more. 

 This here ^^^^^^ is my top bathroom drawer.  I know it doesn't LOOK very organized, but believe me..... you didn't see it 2 months ago.  Holy cow.  I was throwing stuff away from 2005.  But this silverware drawer sure does come in handy.  Just keep in mind, my entire family congregates to our bathroom to brush teeth, comb hair, shower, ect.  Why?  Because they like to keep my life chaotic.  Nevermind my kids have their own VERY spacious bathroom.  But I'm digressing again.  I'm just sayin', that's not all MY junk.  However, the lipstick is.  I am a lipstick QUEEN.  And don't forget it!

 Another random picture of one of my makeup drawers. 

And lastly, another random pic of my pantry.

I'm taking my organization goal a little at a time.  Baby steps.  But, there's more where this came from.  Just thought I'd share my few organization "tips" with anyone in need of help or ideas! 

Catching up

Now that blogger is mysteriously allowing me to share pictures again, I figured I would catch you up on the last month. Some are from Christmas. The picture of Chad sitting at a desk is the before and after when we went to decorate his new office before Christmas. He has a beautiful office that looks out across the street at the newly renovated King Edward Hotel in downtown Jackson. His office is spacious and gorgeous. There is also a pic of some of my Elvis tree! (Which is STILL up). I also have two more posts from today so make sure you check out the kid's Santa pic and the pic from our snow day yesterday!

Ho, Ho, Ho!

Snow day

I was testing blogger from my phone and uploaded this picture. It actually allowed me to put a picture on my blog! Anyway, this is from our short-lived snow day yesterday. The boys were up at 7:00 a.m. outside playing. It was fun while it lasted.

To my children....

In a world where kids (and I use that term loosely, since I was one not too long ago) get their kicks from social media, texting, and the Internet.... In a world that day by day chips away at real life conversations and socializing....... I have a few thoughts as a parent. Because even though I was a kid not too long ago, my kids will soon be these kids I am referring to. (Are you still with me?)

These are just some things I want my kids to understand. Because I'm not going to be their friend. I have no desire to be their best friend. I do desire, however, to establish a strong foundation. Rules. Guidelines. Morals. Ethics--school and work. I want my children to come to me not because they see me as a friend, but as a protector. A confidant. Someone they can come to when they have their first broken heart. When they're offered that first ecstasy-inducing drug or beer. When someone bullies them or belittles them. I want them to know that kids do stupid things. They will do stupid things. And that's okay. That's life. Mercy and grace come from our Savior as well as Mom and Dad. But the stupid things they do are always followed by consequences. Some sting. Some are life altering. Make stupid choices as wisely you can, because 30 seconds later your life may not exist as you know it any longer. Kids do stupid things. Some won't even be remembered in 10 years. Others can haunt you forever.

To my kids, whenever we allow you to own a cell phone, you should remember that it is not an extra limb. You were not born with it and you won't be buried with it. It's a means of communication. It's not to take or send dirty or belittling pictures or videos. It's not to surf the Internet looking for trouble. And it's not to socialize. Social media will not be allowed until we as your parents feel you are mature enough to handle it. And if that doesn't happen until you're 18, so be it. And that's not because I want to shelter you. But this world is tough enough. You'll get plenty of life experiences just growing up and being in school. We will monitor any and all texts that are sent and received. If you are allowed social media in this house, your accounts will again be monitored at all times. There will be no stupid duckface pictures in the bathroom mirror, there will be no "these are my niggas" captioned above pictures with your friends. (Which is another thing that makes my blood boil. "Niggas" is NOT a cool word. At. All. Black or white. Do some history.) And monitoring your "socializing" via technology is not to be cruel and evil. It's being your PARENT. Not a wannabe cool friend. It goes back to making sure your morals are in line with a heart who loves others. Not yourself.

Because you see, my sweet children, when your heart puts others first, everything else falls into place. Sure, life is still hard. Teachers are going to inflict cruel and unusual punishment (a.k.a. Homework), chores will still be mandatory, that first "love" will break your heart (that is, after they rip it out of your chest and stomp on it a few times), but believe me--- you'll have more first "loves" and perhaps more broken hearts. But it won't be the end of the world. Maybe for a week or two it will be, but you'll find that life continues on. Even when you feel it can't. But I digress.

Putting others first leaves less room for heartache. Because when you put yourself so high on a pedestal it makes for an awfully painful fall when you're knocked down from it. And believe me, self -centeredness eventually puts you flat on your face. With no one to help you up. And you find out the hard way that life is not all about you.

Kids today are focused too much on themselves. (A.k.a. Duck face pictures in the bathroom mirror). So I guess I could go on and on about what I expect you to be one day. Trust me, I don't expect you to be perfect, get an expensive education at a college you can't afford, and get a high paying career that you wind up hating. I expect you to make mistakes. Do stupid things. (Which, by the way, is not permission to do stupid things). But I expect you to learn and grow from life and all that it throws unmercifully at you. The more you realize that this is a great, big world, and that it doesn't revolve around you, things get easier. Clearer. Life makes more sense.

But if you learn nothing else in the years under my roof, always remember this: it's much harder to fall when you're already on your knees in prayer.

A month!

It's been a MONTH since I've blogged. A whole month! What is wrong with me? For one, I'm still angry at Google for not allowing me to upload pics to my blog. I mean, really?! Still trying to figure out what to do about that. It's also been super busy lately. SUPER.

Christmas was awesome. Best ever. But as always it flew by without me being able to stop time for even just a few shirt minutes. But we still got lots of memories and cuddle time in. Brennan also got the flu the week before. The other 2 children got a milder case of it, but by a MIRACLE Chad and I did not come down with it. My house was also covered in a sticky film of Lysol and Clorox wipes.

New Years: VERY uneventful. Stayed home, shot a few cheap fireworks with the kiddos, and parked it on the couch until midnight. Just the way I like it! Actually Chad and I stayed up talking until the wee hours. The only other place on earth I would have rather been on NYE would have been Graceland. But it's hard to find an overnight sitter with 3 kids! One that we can afford anyway.

Random: last year, eons behind my hip friends, I discovered Adele. She made it onto my iPhone playlist. Love her and her lyrics. And now, another eon behind my peeps, I've discovered The Lumineers just this afternoon they made it onto my playlist. I mean really. It's a big deal to make it onto my shuffle. Elvis is the king. To make it with the likes of Elvis, well, you're just awesome.

P.S. my Elvis Christmas tree is still up. Next year, I'm going totally Graceland with the Elvis tree. White tree, blue lights. It's going to totally rock. (Pun intended). I meant to leave my tree up through this week in honor of Elvis's 78th birthday. I also intended to take it down yesterday. Life got in the way. Oh well. I'm not going to complain about having to look at my beautiful Elvis tree another few days. It's Elvis after all.

And also, Pinterest is my new BFF!!!!!  Since Chad started his new job in October and the holidays have bid us a farewell, we are on a new budget.  Which means menu planning and COOKING.  Nearly every night.  I am addicted to the recipes on Pinterest.  I have definitely found a new love interest.  But, I'm sure my husband feels okay with it.