Is this normal?

Encouraging words

Saw this on another blog...

1.Light a candle by your sink as you wash dishes.

2. Listen to worship music, classical music, or something you love as you work.
3. Clean one area or room at a time. Declare it off limits when you're finished with it.
4. Take frequent breaks to do something you enjoy for just a few minutes.
5. Use cleaning products that either smell great or are homemade.
6. Be thankful for what you have. Thank your husband and the Lord for what they have provided.
7. Start looking at yard sales and thrift shops for things that fit in with what you would like your home to become. Oftentimes, you can find things that are just perfect.
8. Think comfort in all you purchase for your home. Some styles may be pretty; but, they're not always comfortable.
9. Determine to be thankful for what you have now.
10. Ruthlessly get rid of the things that you don't need or enjoy.

11. Smile!

12. Pray while you iron.
13. Invite someone over. It's great motivation; and, God tells us to be hospitable. It's also fun!
14. Make time in your day for doing something you enjoy...knitting, sewing, crocheting, writing, reading, whatever it may be.
15. Place your favorite chair near your husband's favorite chair. Reach over and hold his hand.
16. Seek friendships with ladies who enjoy homekeeping.
17. Try new recipes regularly.
18. Make useful things for your home and for your family.
19. Make things homemade as often as possible. There's such satisfaction in it.
20. Take time for tea!
21. Use it up; wear it out; make it do; or do without!

Just one of those days.

You know the days that....

you don't like who you are as a mom

the kids are off schedule

homeschool doesn't happen

no energy

cramps (yes I said it)

pulling dinner out of the freezer is as much as can be mustered

too many things planned in one day

feeling pulled in a million directions

not succeeding at anything

Ultimately I know that it isn't true, well most of it anyway. And I know that I'm just really tired and feel a little over scheduled right now. I want my house spic n span and it just isn't happening this week. You know when your mom is coming and you desperately want every nook and cranny cleaned. As if she is going to pull out her white glove and swipe the shelf above the front door for cobwebs and dust bunnies. My mom isn't like that at all, but the perfectionist woman inside me wants to hose down the entire house in bleach. Ridiculous I know. She'll be mad that I am even fretting about it. She's actually the mom that would just grab a baby wipe and start cleaning, but still just once I would like my children to stay on schedule and I to have the energy to get done what is on my list.

The days that I feel the most successful are the days I stay home. Most people would say that is boring. And I never thought that I would be admitting to this. I am a social on the go kind of personality. But I see such a difference in my kids when I am rested, they're on schedule, no running around. The house gets cleaned, dinner/bread gets made, school is done, playtime...

Society says such the opposite that I am constantly fighting the pull that I feel is coming from the Holy Spirit versus the nature of our world. The crazy thing is that the very things that are stressing me out are things that are godly, ministry type, "christian" things. I just know that the day is here where I can't do all this. And I shouldn't be. My calling is in these four walls, with these three adorable little kids, and one hot husband.

And I need to keep reminding myself of the absolute success I feel on the days that I am getting a lot accomplished.

I am also trying to balance this with the fact that on some things I need to just lower my standards.

I will always have dog hair on my floors. And that's ok. I love my dogs, they're worth it. 7 yrs later, it's time to stop being angry every time I get down on my hands and knees to wipe the baseboards.

My kids love to play. There are always going to be toys out, somewhere in this house. That means they're having fun. Having the toys put away all day is unrealistic and not every night am I going to have the energy to have them or me put them away. Eventually it gets done.

I will always have dishes in my sink. A sign that I am cooking healthy meals.

Just writing this is frightening and liberating at the same time. So even tho I am looking at a pile of fresh laundry that needs put away. I am going to quit getting frustrated about it, because the baby needs to sleep and me going in there to put laundry away can wait.

Sigh..............

(Sorry re- reading this post and it is all over the place!)

Five Months Old, yes I'm a little late.

So I also have her six and seventh month pics to put up too. But I am determined to get them all up here.

You're gonna have to start it yourself...

Ummm, my mom says that ALL the time. (insert teenage eye roll here)

The message has hit home. This time it was a women's bible study. I have just craved a weekly morning bible study since having Avery. Evenings are so hard with getting the kids ready for bed in the evenings and Shane's work schedule. So after mentioning it to our pastor and his wife we put wheels in motion and got it started.

Today is only our second meeting, but it is becoming a highlight in my week. Studying the bible, fellowship with all different kinds of women in the study, and ok I admit, two hours of taking the mom hat off is pretty nice too.

When Carolyn met we had a couple of concerns. Availability of our church office, would people sign up, and childcare. All the details were taken care of within an hour of our planning session. CRAZY? No way. Clearly, God was just waiting for me to get the ball rolling. Lesson learned....

Sometimes you just have to start it yourself.

Tomorrow she is 7 months

STOP GROWING SO FAST!

40 cents and once again using my Mom

I found this piece of cloth at Good*will for 40 cents. I am not kidding. It had a little spot in the corner, those do NOT deter me. So we took it back to my mom's house after our shopping extravaganza and I decided it had to have something on it. Although pretty stark white, it was just begging (literally I heard it) for some words. Thankfully my mom LOVES it when I leave tons of projects at her house for her to do. LOL!

We picked this verse and some dark red thread, and it turned out perfect!

If only she would have ironed it. ha ha ha! (this is an inside joke because my sisters and I do not iron and we totally blame it on the fact that my mom does tons of ironing all the time and ironed our clothes until we left for college. totally spoiled huh?)

Pancakes and Syrup

Every Saturday morning Shane makes pancakes. It started out as an occasional dip into the bisquick box and has morphed into from- scratch- buttermilk- fluffy pancakes. Straight from Southern Living Ya'll!

Well I have been beyond frustrated with the syrup situation. I HATE regular pancake syrup as it usually has corn syrup in it. So we've been grabbing organic maple syrup from Target. Although pure and tasty it is SIX DOLLARS a jar and we use almost an entire jar in one sitting.

SO I found this: http://somewhereinthemiddle-missylou.blogspot.com/2009/06/homemade-maple-syrup_03.html

Homemade syrup. I had NO IDEA it was this easy. I'm going to start making it and storing it in jars. Seriously, this stuff is so easy and so cheap!

Party!

Today starts the birthday celebrations. Yesterday was my actual birthday, but Shane had a softball game and I had a women's ministry meeting so the "party" is just now beginning! Today my close friends and I are heading out to lunch at Olive Garden, can I get an amen! Tonight we have our homegroup kick-off picnic (not birthday related, but we'll go ahead and count it in) and then tomorrow Shane is making a huge dinner and I'll get some birthday cake.

Yesterday was pretty awesome for not even being the official festivities. I had 70 people wish me happy birthday on facebook. Now it is NOT about the number, but it was so fun to have my fun blowing up all day long. The fact that people took a minute out of their day to wish me happy birthday. For one who has moved around so much since college, it meant a lot.

My gifts have been so random and so fun this year.

*Shane bought me the Phil and Teds stroller.

*My parents got me curtain rods for my dining room. I have been wanting them for months (a post coming soon on that!)

*My sister sent me the sweetest necklace of a hot air ballon with little jewels hanging off of it. This harkens back to our childhood days when the hot air balloons would fly over our house all summer and land in Duncan's field behind our house.

*My friend Corie showed up at my house yesterday with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers picked from her garden and a starbucks card (that girl knows. the way to my heart!)

*My Mil and Fil sent me some money which I quickly ordered some vintage spools. Weird to most of you, awesome to me.

*My grandpa sent me some money and I ordered a petal drop necklace from Pleated Poppy.

It's been the best birthday in a long time. Just felt a lot of love from family and friends. Now that I'm in my 30's and can't pretend I'm in my twenties I am embracing it and loving it. I'm really happy in this stage of life. Love staying home and raising three beautiful kids, starting homeschooling, involved in MOPS, women's ministry, and a knitting group. And did I mention that I'm crazy about Shane? Yep, we've come along way in our marriage and after all these moves and craziness we're having fun together and finding things to do together like exercising, home projects, and landscaping. Life is good. Sometimes I wonder why God would bless me so much. But then I remember that he loves blessing his children. I want to grow closer to him and am working on a new daily devotional routine. I keep thinking of the verse that says,"...the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him."

My Cup Runneth Over

P.S. Did I really use the word harken? ha ha ha! cracking myself up!