Weekend Field Trip

When you work all week, it's easy on Saturday or Sunday to get in a rut and want to rest on the weekend.  However, when you work all week what you truly need to do is spend some one on one time with your children.  I decided that every Friday I would post a blog with an idea of something you and your children could do right here in Clarksville this weekend.  It's doesn't have to be a large adventure, all our kids want is our time.

If you haven't visited Rotary Park lately, you should check it out.  Rotary Park is on the 41A Bypass, the gate is behind Kmart.  They've done several improvements to the park.  There five miles of hiking and biking trails in the woods that you and your children could walk on while teaching them a little about nature.  There is also a creek back in the woods off the trails that is pretty.  Our boys love wading in the creek and on a hot summer day it's a perfect way to cool off.  I'm not the most in shape person, but walking on the trails is a good activity for you and your children plus is enables you to talk with your kids as you get a little exercise.  Below is a link to more information about the park if you'd like to check it out.

http://www.mcgtn.org/parks/parks-and-facilities#rotary

Somethings Gotta Give

I have a pretty stressful job.  I have one of those jobs where even when I'm off work, I'm not really off work.  When I get home and am juggling dinner for the kids, I may also be answering emails or phone calls for work.  With this juggling act, somethings gotta go so here is my list of the top things I may not have time for anymore.

1.  Cleaning my house.  Before I had kids, I was crazy about keeping a clean house.  I even had my spice drawer alphabetized.  I never let the laundry pile up.  Clothes were washed when we had a load to do.  Now, I have hired someone who cleans the house and it's nothing to have laundry piled  up.  I have taken the attitude that clutter is king, as long as the bones of the house are clean.

2.  I rarely have time to do my nails anymore.  Before kids, I use to say that you could tell how put together someone was by how well their nails were manicured.  Guess what, using that old way of thinking I am now the most unput together person I know. 

3.  Before we had kids, I would cook three course meals each night.  I love to cook and used to try to impress my husband with my cooking skills.  Now, the hour between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. is crazy and I'm lucky to get fruit or yogurt down my kids.  Matter a fact, fruit and yogurt have become a regular side item in our house.

4.  Gardening.  Before we had kids, I took great pride in our flower beds and had some beautiful flowering pots on the deck.  Now, with kids, I tried to continue the gardening.  I planted flowers in pots this year, only to not have time to water them, so now I have beautiful dried up flowers on the deck.

5.  Shopping.  Like most women, I love to shop but when you work and have two small children the only chance you have is in the evenings or on weekends.  It's not the same dragging two small children from store to store.   I don't even have time to go buy new shoes for my boys, therefore, I have become a huge fan of Amazon and Amazon Prime.  It's a must for working Moms.

The house isn't as clean, I don't get to cook gourmet meals anymore, and my flower beds lack a lot to be desired but in the grand scheme of things, I have a job I love and two well adjusted children, so does it really matter if my nails don't look great?

Chalk It Up

I have a project that's easy, inspires your child's creative side, and looks great.  It's a chalk board painted on your child's bedroom wall.  I did this in my son's bedroom wall and it's been a hit.  Not only does our oldest enjoy it but now our youngest son, he loves writing on it. 

It's actually pretty simple.  You can buy chalk board paint at any home improvement store.  It comes in several colors, including black, red, and green.  We chose black because it went best with the rest of the room.  We took painters tape and marked off the area we wanted to be the chalk board and with a small foam roller, rolled the chalk board paint on the wall.  It took three coats.  When it dries you can write on it just like a regular chalk board.

It's been fun for the boys to draw on.  We use side walk chalk and have fun with all the colors.  It's a great place to give special messages like "I love you" or "Happy Birthday".  This simple project, takes a few hours, and will give hours of joy..

Milestones, Love 'Em or Hate 'Em

Every parent is going to understand the feeling I am getting ready to describe.  That feeling of how you can't wait for our child to walk, ride a bike, or do this or do that, but at the same time you have a little saddness because it would mean that phase will be over soon. That feeling of how you look at your child and think that this phase has to the be the best yet and you never want it to end. 

When our boys were born I remember looking at their swollen, red faces and thinking, "you can't get anymore beautiful".  Then four months later when they were very chubby with thinning hair, I loved their fat, chubby faces and never wanted them to change, however, they did, and around one year old, when they were starting to look like little boys instead of babies, boy, did I think they were handsome.

Today was a milestone for our wonderful oldest child.  It was his first day of kindergarden.   Believe it or not, I did not cry.  Yes, this is the end of one phase and the beginning of another for him, but I was excited.  There is something about this phase of his life that I love just as much as the ones that have past and it's that we are learning to have real, two sided conversations. I love visiting with him, hearing about his day, what he learned, what excited him and even his very distinct opinions. Today wasn't unlike the other milestones, for instance how he grinned ear to ear and laughed out loud when he took his first steps or how excited he was to learn to swim under water.  Life is so full of these precious moment and today is no exception.

If I could give any advice, I suppose what I would say is that enjoy each phase.  Don't worry that time is flying by to fast, don't worry about when your child will do this, or they will do that.  Stay in the moment and don't miss a beat and I promise, the next phase will be even more beautiful than the last.

You Say It's Your Birthday

Today is my forty-first birthday and the new age has started me reflecting on being a Mom at my age and how that might affect our boys.  I do feel my age most days when I am chasing a two year old and a five year old around, trying to cook dinner, give baths, return emails, so on and so on.  I wondering what my age might mean to our boys or do they even notice?

When I was five, my mother would have been twenty-five.  Now, that thought really makes me feel old because I remember thinking my Mom was ancient.  With that being said,  I also thought she was the most beautiful women I knew.  I thought she looked beautiful, she sang beautiful and everything she did was perfect in my eyes.  I still think she is a beautiful women, however, when trying to draw from my child-like memories, I chose that description of her not because of how she looked on the outside but because of how she made me feel on the inside, which was very loved.  She was beautiful because she did everything for me, she cooked for me, she cleaned for me, she kissed my boo boos, she simply loved me unconditionally.  She was and is spectacular in my eyes, no matter the age.

In this fast paced world that I call "life", when my boys look at me with the same love and admiration, it makes me feel as if I must be doing something right.  When they greeted me with birthday wishes this morning, they were so excited and proud to be doing something for me.  The smiles on their little faces was the best gift.  At the end of the day, their opinion is the one that matters the most to me.  If I can be the most beautiful person in their world, I'm happy, no matter my age.

Careful What You Ask

Morning in our house are a gamble, we never know how our days will begin.  Sometimes things run smoothly, the boys get up on time, eat a good breakfast, get dressed and we're out the door.  Other times we're thrown a curb ball which can totally mess up our schedule.  All it takes is one spilt milk or one extra dirty diaper and we're thrown into rush mode.

Our oldest son, has a hard time getting up in the morning.  He's our sleeper.  Our youngest wakes the roosters up.  With our oldest, we have to plan ahead, making sure we allow plenty of time for his "waking up mood", which can go from complete melt down to utter happiness, you never know what your going to get.  What we usually do is simply turn on his light and turn on the radio next to his bed or sometimes we send his younger brother in to yell, "wake up bubby", "wake up bubby".  Trust me, a two year old, in his loud, pitchy voice can wake anyone.  This is how our oldest son's day usually begins.

Today, was a little different.  We sent our youngest into wake up his brother.  We heard the usual "wake up bubby", "wake up bubby", however, this morning he added a new twist.  He decided to pull off his pull up and pee pee on his brother bed to wake him up.  I'm not sure which tactic worked the best, the yelling or the going to the bathroom in the bed, but I do know that his older brother will pay attention to him next time.

I don't know what the best way to wake our oldest up each morning is but what I do know is that we have to give him ample time.  I get how he feels, I'm not a morning person either.  I would rather get up early enough for him to slowly crawl from bed than feel stressed dragging him out of bed kicking and screaming.  Starting our day on in a positive way can set the whole mood for the day.