Monday, June 29, 2009

Balance??

Children change your life. There is no way around it. That being said, my life has been changed for over 5 years. So changed, in fact, that I can barely remember what I was like before children. The days of spontaneity are long, long, very long gone. I actually like what my life has turned into. I love being home. I love hanging out with my husband and kids. It is all okay with me. BUT. BUT!!! That does not mean I do not miss some of the things that I used to be. I miss being able to leave the room when I wanted or needed without the pitter patter of little feet yelling, "Mommy! Mommy! Where are you going? Can I come?" I love being able to read a whole book in a day. I also miss WANTING to stay out late. I miss the chemistry that happens with Mike and I when we are alone. We are very different people alone. We try very hard to find that time, but most of the time, we are Mom and Dad! I suppose the thing I miss the most is a quick weekend trip. Not that we can't do that now, but being responsible with money and saving and other such family type actions makes that not a possibility. Weekends in are a lot more creative these days!

Now. Let me say, it has stretched my imagination to come up with things that we can do that do not feel so monotonous. Movie and popcorn night can only take us so far. We have to camp in the living room and backyard, we do hot tub and ooey gooey marshy-mallow in the fire pit on the back porch, free Disney days with a packed cooler and lots of sunscreen...you see my point. Our fun has changed. No laying out by the pool. It is playing out by the pool! Our lives have changed. I stand firm. I love my life. Life needs a balance. We are learning. Learning to balance with the resources we have.

Last night we went to see Transformers. Due to lack of babysitter, which is a situation we often find ourselves in, we took Mackenzie with mere hope she would sleep her way through! We basically got our wish, but it took a little work to get her to sleep. THIS. Not an example of balance.

Balance for us has proved to be after 9 PM. We become Mike and Christina after 9 PM. Babysitters are too expensive these days, so we play games and watch movies at home. I didn't say the balance was perfect. An evening out, all dressed up to a nice restaurant would be more than fantastic, but we take what we can get!! Again, I say, good thing we love each other. And good thing we love being home.

So, to conclude, balance can be made with the resources on hand. It is our perfect balance. Everyone needs balance. Their own balance. You balance with your own weight, right?? Balance with your own life then! Just don't forget to do it or you might fall down.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Things to say


Madi went on a sleep over this week. She slept over at my friend from childhood's home with her daughter. We were both shocked at how well she did. She was an hour away from home and just made herself right at home. She had pancakes and proceeded to tell Diana that after her pancakes she needed something healthy because she had syrup with her pancakes! ??? Hmmm. Maybe I talk about healthy eating a little?

My printer has no ink. This is a terrible thing in the world of coupons!!!! I get so many printable coupons that give me unreal deals and I can't print them!! Printer ink is almost a week's worth of our grocery budget. I am sure you see my dilemma. The good side to this, is I am refusing to buy anything that isn't on sale. This means my cabinets and fridge are a bit bare, but I am cleaning out things! Good thing I have stocked up massively on meat. I am definitely to the stock up point. I would say I rarely have to go to the store because I need something other than basics. YEAH!

Michael Jackson. I am 32 years old and certainly not the oldest of the Michael Jackson generation. But I have to tell you, he is the firsts true legend of my time that has come and gone. Despite the tabloids on him, it is a sad time. It brings to light just how mortal we are. Certain people die that cause me to flinch, thinking, we all can go, quickly, and at any moment. His passing comes within a week of an older friend of mine who died from cancer. A man who worked nearly until the day he died. He had to continue living his life even though he knew he was going to die. What a different life. But a life he died cherishing. To compare the two, I would take the life I cherished and had to work a little for. What would you take?

Busy does not even remotely describe things this month. Referring back to my last blog, I need to work really hard at not letting my life melt away. It is beginning to melt. This makes the purpose, also a previous blog, of writing all this, even more important. I want to keep the small details more than some of the bigger ones.

Here are some small details I can leave you with:

-Mackenzie in her My Baby floaty in the pool with the most adorable pink hat and a huge smile.
-Madison running out the front door and getting into my friend's van for her fist sleep over.
-Mike and I staying up way too late just to talk without being interrupted.
-Talking to my brother and feeling connected to him for the first time in my life.
-Watching my girls play with my brother's kids like true cousins who love each other.
-coming up with some random concoction to put in the crock pot and it coming out pretty tasty!


Cherishing the small moments that are my life. My real life!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Melting....

Sorry for the delay in blogs. We have had a busy few days. My writing time took to the wayside. Friday we went on a free pass the the YMCA. It has a brand new mini water park! What an awesome day! Madi took a little swim test and she was good enough to go without a life vest and use this giant twistie slide. We had a blast!!! It has a splash area too. Mackenzie even got to go in. Notice the exhaustion...


The weekend was full of family as it was Father's Day weekend. We got to see my brother and his kids. We had such a fantastic time with them. My dad seemed to enjoy us all. We swam in our pool all day Sunday since that was Mike's wish for Father's Day. He had exactly the day he wanted. He is such an amazing father. When we first got together, I never could have imagined the daddy he would be. He deserved to be honored.




In other news, Madison went to a Montessori style home school group this week. It is new to me but seems like a good match. I am really liking the combination of structure and "un"structure. It really works well for us. I am a little scared of the things happening in the government that are leaning toward taking home school rights away from parents. check out parentalrights.org for the many changes that may be happening to parental rights. I believe every parent needs to educate and defend themselves.

My goals of organization are slowly with continuing education. I am getting connected now with other couponing families to help arm myself with better couponing insight! It is very interesting to see what people are discovering in the world of Good Deal.

A friend I have on FaceBook made a status that has stuck with me today. He said to make sure you account for the things you do, otherwise things will all melt together and before you know it, you will be wondering where all your time went. It has stuck with me because, although unsuccessful at times, I have always tried to relish the moment. Especially the moments leading up to something truly exciting because those are the moments that can mostly be forgotten. They are also the moments that can most make something spectacular. I don't want my life to melt away. The things you read in my blog...coupons, field trips, home school projects, organiztion...they are all the things I want to remember so my life doesn't melt away in some blur of forgotten details.

And last, Mike has been released to work again, so as of yesterday, he has gone back and we no longer have our fun daddy at home with us. Boooo:( But now, at least, he will get more of his income back. We have a love hate relationship with worker's comp right now.

So I have a pot roast in the crock pot, I am:
-listening to the sound of a calming fan.
-enjoying the feel of the keyboard as I pursue a love of writing.
-watching the sky turn a slight tint of gray with the possiblity of a storm.
-embracing the day I had with an old dear friend.
-praying my child will be able to make it all night on her first sleep over at that same friend's house. (who, by the way, was my sleep over buddy for years when we were younger. Approprate that she would have my daughter on HER first sleep over!!)
-working on organization
-accepting myself for what I am...

All in all it has been a productive few days...

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Thursday, June 18, 2009

A series of moments...

The last 2 days have been a tad crazy! I suppose that's what being flexible is all about. I watch a baby 2 days a week. I love baby Paige like she is my own! She is such a sweet baby. At first I did not venture out, but now I am getting more accustomed to having her and her schedule is more familiar, so I have been venturing out...


Yesterday we went to Walmart to get a birthday present for our niece. We had Mike, Madison, Mackenzie, Paige, and me. Too many to fit in my car, so our older niece drove. It took us 2 cars!! We looked like a daycare. We had a stroller and a cart to hold both babies. Quite a picture.
As for our home school projects, I have gotten together all of the info to do a lap book on Monarch butterflies. We went to the library this week and got a book on butterflies. All because I was weeding and found caterpillars. Amazing where lessons can come from. We are also studying how people lived in the past compared to current times. So we have a book on farms of the past. Not to mention, Madison has a new love for the Junie B. Jones books.

Last night was our niece's birthday so we went to play laser tag. It was a riot! We had so much fun. Madi played with me and we got the second highest score out of everyone and were only 1 point behind. We got first on our team! Poor Mike's mom, however. She was the casualty who ended up with a black eye thanks to Mike's sister, Lisa's head! Its just a game Lisa..Wheee! Other than that, so fun!! We have also been playing in the pool a lot! Pool days are a necessity with the recent extreme temperatures here. Madi played so hard, she passed out today and took a very unexpected and very unusual nap...

On a more contemplative note, I had a beautiful moment today. It was sensational. Living in Florida, we hear the sounds of crickets and such, like a chorus everyday. My favorite sound is the evening symphony of crickets. Today, in a rare moment of quiet, I took a walk to the mailbox and got a sweet surprise. The storm had passed

Everyday Florida Storm.....Image by Crenshaw1979 via Flickr

and the temperature was perfect, as was the smell of after-rain, and there was a calming, cricket conversation that that caused me to stop in my tracks, close my eyes, and take a deep, cleansing breath. It was a natural detox. What a moment. Life is made perfect with a series of perfect moments. It is important to remember them and savor them. I cataloged that moment in my mind for future recall.
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Monday, June 15, 2009

Quality vs Quantity

Well, we had an incredible weekend. We went bounce housing and did finally manage to get a pizza worth its value! We spent some very quality time with the girls and in large doses. It is a common saying, Quality vs Quantity, but who says you have to sacrifice one or the other? And who says how much is enough or not enough? While gardening, does that mean we aren't spending time with the kids? No! We include them in it. Even Mackenzie!

Today, I am working on my next few weeks of home school activities. I am planning the half and half curriculum!! This is the Sawyer philosophy of a very open ended style and half structured. This was very similar to my baby raising style. I did half attachment parenting and half not! Seems like an un-method, doesn't it? But it is MY method and it works well for me. I was reading a blog recently that spoke of the Waldorf philosophy which is partly, and I mean very partly, a style that interests me. I do implement this style without even knowing it. I feel Madison is a bit of a free spirit, yet she enjoys some structure as well, so I will study some more on this philosophy.

Mike and I started a bible study on Revelations. This is, in part, because of the Left Behind series of books, which I have read most of and Mike has begun and is currently on book 3. It has been interesting to place the events of this book on a map, which we have an enormous historical depiction of the bible. We are taking a while to do this as we research the individuals and places that we are unfamiliar with. It is like a history lesson for us as well!

All in all, we have been getting so much accomplished for our lives and our futures...so you be the judge. Quality or Quantity? Which is more important and do you really need to sacrifice one or the other?


Saturday, June 13, 2009

Organized Chaos

It has always been a goal of mine to have balanced fun! There must be quiet time, loud time, educated fun time, brainless fun time, and I suppose you get the idea. Yesterday we made a big mess of our day, and I meant that in the fun sense.

We had things that needed to get done and things we wanted to get done, so we interspersed the fun!! Mike, who has a broken foot, can only do things that do not require his feet. So he sat and sanded/stained my new shelves for my office and home-school materials. I weeded the garden. Which has a funny story that I must share. We have had a resident black snake in our rose garden, which also happens to be a train set built by Mike. We haven't seen him lately, so Mike was sure he was gone. I had seen him, but it was over by our veggie garden in the pile of pine straw. Keep this in your mind as y

Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar.Image via Wikipedia

ou read on! So dutifully, I weeded. I also found monarch caterpillars on the hibiscus which is turning into a nice school project!

Meanwhile, Madison played on the sprinkler and slip and slide, leading to mommy playing on the slip and slide!! Then we all went in the pool and the hot tub. Madison is getting very good at touching the bottom to pick things up now.

We decided to take a trip to the thrift store. I use thrift store to teach Madison the value of a dollar and that we don't always have to spend a lot of money. Now, recalling the snake friend story. On our way out to the car, in passing our now weeded and very neat looking rose garden, low and behold, our friend left us some evidence of his current existence in the way of...da da da DAAA...his skin!!! So, he may have taken a vacation, but his residence is still our train set!

We tried to order pizza as a treat for dinner but it was way to expensive for our budget to I made some Tilapia with lemon, butter and toasted almonds with corn on the cob. We ate in the living room for Friday night movie and had popsicles and cookies that I baked!

All in all, it was an unorganized day that got a lot accomplished! I even cleaned out the turtles tank. By the way, for the future, this is the turtle that we found in our garage who is now a monster. Also, the same turtle that...wait for it...ATE the goldfish!!! Don't you love having pets!







Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Progress

I have been working lately on the bargain shopping thing. One of my goals as a stay at home mom has been to save as much as I can in order to "make" money in some way. The last 2 shopping trips I made, I walked out of the stores and truly felt as if I was making progress. Here is a "for instance". I went to Target after doing some great research on this week's deals at different stores. I walked out of the store with 28.45 worth of food and used 9.50 in coupons!! Considering that Publix sells the same box of Cheerios for almost $5, I'd say I came out pretty ahead of the game! I even bought allergy medicine! I am starting to get the hang of it! The key is using the coupon while the item is already on sale! LOL! Fun!

In other progress, I am taking some more baby steps in home school! A permanent schedule is not yet on the horizon but I am testing the waters. I am understanding more of Madison's learning styles. We are working our way up to more days of school per week. I will home school her part-time all summer even though she isn't officially in Kindergarten yet. I plan to take a lot of November and December off. Holidays and all:)

I am also progressing in the realm of writing. I have found it difficult to read, study, and write with small children who seem to need a constant stream of attention. If it isn't one, its the other. Then there are the days that I babysit all day and I can't manage to fit in time to eat. My baby breastfeeding, the other baby bottle feeding all while preparing a snack for the eldest! Yeah! I am that good!! Well, it feels like I do that sometimes. Does that count? All that aside, I have a new goal, which in itself, shows my progress. I will blog everyday for at least 15 minutes. I will read everyday for at least 15 minutes. Something. Anything. Even a magazine. It is all in the name of progress, my friends...

Have you ever felt like some days you were on the right track and there was no stopping your growth and then others, you hit the mirror in the fun house and the joke is on you?? I am truly hoping to eliminate those days. For now, I feel pretty good.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

The purpose

This is my first attempt at true blogging! I am thrilled to be starting this new journey, but it all stems from my purpose! If you are at all like me, your life can get bogged down with responsibility, work, maybe children, and just plain exhaustion. I am starting this blog because, beside the things that I just listed, I have passions. I have ideas and desires, and a lack of organization to accomplish them. This blog is going to help with that and it will put some ideas out there into the world, and hopefully return some ideas!

So where do I begin? I have gone through many stages of development in the last 12 years. I am a former teacher, aerial a
crobat and stunt performer. I am 32 years old and currently a stay at home mom of a 5 year old girl and a 4 month old girl. I am married to a fantastic man who is fully supportive of our lifestyle of raising our children to their fullest potential and having me home to do it. We are very involved in our church and believe God has a great plan for us. He is working in us everyday, making us better people and leading us in this direction. I am embarking on the homeschool adventure this year as my 5 year old is beginning kindergarten. I am also a self-proclaimed writer, which could be its own blog in itself, as could parenting and being a wife. There is also my new found love of cooking and shopping for great bargains. Multi-tasking doesn't quite cover all of the things I have to offer, which leads me to my purpose for this blog.

I aim to teach and learn ways to encompass all of the aspe
cts of my life into one, nice, neat little organized package. Now, that sounds like a massive feat of destruction, but I am ready for this challenge. I am ready to move to the next stage of my life which will allow me to be all of the things I am most passionate about!

Join me on my journey and maybe we can all learn a thing or tw
o!





Great deals on School & Homeschool Curriculum Books and Software