Well, it's been a while. I haven't had much to post about lately. Or, rather, I've had bunches to post, just not enough time or energy to post them. My oldest has been asking me to write another post so this one is for him.
Top 10 Reasons I Think My Oldest Is Pretty Awesome:
10. He encourages me to write on my blog. I never thought I had much talent writing. He makes me feel like I do.... perhaps even that I have something worthwhile to say.
9. He tries new things without batting an eyelash. He's always been like that. From wanting me to leave him when I went to register him for preschool at 2 to riding the Hulk roller coaster a few months ago, he's always looked adventure in the eye and said "Bring it on!"
8. He's so great with his younger siblings. I, too, have younger siblings. However, I have to admit to not being nearly the best big sister to them as my oldest is to my younger 2. He reads to them. Teaches them. Helps them. Plays with them. The best big brother anyone could want.
7. He loves to learn.
6. He loves to teach.
5. He humors me when I want him to do something he doesn't really want to do by not giving me too much grief.
4. He gets my jokes and I get his. I love that he loves telling jokes. His smile lights me right up and his laugh is infectious.
3. He forgives me when I'm not the being the best Mother to him or one he deserves.
2. He's very loving.
And the #1 reason my oldest is AWESOME:
He keeps his chin up in the face of disappointment. I've witnessed several interactions of his with others where he was let down. As his Mom, I want to take that hurt and disappointment away. I know it will make him a more compassionate, conscientious person and in the end make him a stronger, better person. But that doesn't make it pull less at the heart strings. I have honestly been on the verge of tears after witnessing these things and had it not been for his strength to move forward and not give in to the disappointment, I would have lost it.
My oldest is one great, amazing son. I can't wait to see the amazing man he will one day become. I love you lots! xoxoxo
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Yard Sale MIS-Adventure
Last weekend, I did it! I took the plunge into the deep end and didn't look back. I planned to have my first yard sale the following weekend.
My husband and I have become pack rats....at least where it comes to keeping kids' stuff. What if we have another baby? We don't want to start from square one all over again. Little did we realize how many baby showers we'd be thrown for each child, the birthday and Christmas presents they'd get and the hand-me-downs we'd receive over the years. So, I braved the attic and 100+ degree temps. (not to mention heat index, which made it feel like a million degrees) and cleaned out the attic. Toys, clothing and gear for newborns to toddlers. We had so much stuff....literally 10 YEARS worth! I spent the ENTIRE week sorting clothes and pricing toys.
So, yesterday was the big day. We made and put out our yard sale signs. We advertised on 3 different local websites. I even encouraged my Facebook friends to come by. While we got some traffic and $120 more than we woke up with, we really didn't sell much, given the amount of stuff we had. We ended up giving the clothes and toys to Goodwill....not before sorting, counting and itemizing first, as what we had went above and beyond the $500 deduction Uncle Sam allows on taxes. We still have the bigger items. My husband put it all on Craigslist and actually sold an item today. So, all in all so far, we earned $1000 in sales and tax deductions. Next time, however, I'm just going the Goodwill route....
My husband and I have become pack rats....at least where it comes to keeping kids' stuff. What if we have another baby? We don't want to start from square one all over again. Little did we realize how many baby showers we'd be thrown for each child, the birthday and Christmas presents they'd get and the hand-me-downs we'd receive over the years. So, I braved the attic and 100+ degree temps. (not to mention heat index, which made it feel like a million degrees) and cleaned out the attic. Toys, clothing and gear for newborns to toddlers. We had so much stuff....literally 10 YEARS worth! I spent the ENTIRE week sorting clothes and pricing toys.
So, yesterday was the big day. We made and put out our yard sale signs. We advertised on 3 different local websites. I even encouraged my Facebook friends to come by. While we got some traffic and $120 more than we woke up with, we really didn't sell much, given the amount of stuff we had. We ended up giving the clothes and toys to Goodwill....not before sorting, counting and itemizing first, as what we had went above and beyond the $500 deduction Uncle Sam allows on taxes. We still have the bigger items. My husband put it all on Craigslist and actually sold an item today. So, all in all so far, we earned $1000 in sales and tax deductions. Next time, however, I'm just going the Goodwill route....
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Date Night
My husband and I have a weekly date night. We've been doing this for years. We started this because the day-to-day business of being parents was wearing us out. Though we love our children more than life itself, there is more to our lives than our children. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be enough time in the day (or enough red bull energy drinks in the world) that allowed us to be "just us"....the way we were before we became parents. So, we decided we needed a weekly date night to allow us to do just that....reconnect on a personal level.
We have set aside the same day each week for our date nights. We do our best (and have been mostly successful) to make sure everything else (meetings, kids' extra curriculars, etc) happen around this date night. To my surprise, my husband's work peers have been baffled by this idea of date night....including the married ones!
Really? Is this really a foreign concept? Well, dear reader, if it is a foreign concept to you as well, allow me to explain its significance. I am a product of a divorce. I do not have a memory of my parents going out together, just the two of them. I had babysitters, but that was so both of my parents could work at night. Looking back, I realize that my parents most likely never made time together. I realize that they both worked hard to make sure our needs were met. However, the most important need any child has is for their mother and father to have a strong marriage....to keep the family unit (ie the child's support system) together. My father didn't seem interested in my mother's interests (I don't know if he even knew what her interests were) or vice versa. They were not friends and that's one big reason, in my opinion, they divorced.
Divorce is not an option for me. It's not that I'm necessarily against divorce. I understand and have witnessed situations where divorce is the only option because of abuse. This is not what I'm talking about. Divorce due to growing apart is what I'm against. I have told myself long ago that I was going to do my best to make sure my children did not have to endure what I endured with my parents' divorce. Those who say the kids aren't affected by divorce are wrong. They are affected. I just decided that I would turn what was an awful experience into a learning experience in an effort to have a strong marriage and family. So, when my husband and I started having children and feeling ourselves meeting every need of our children and not our own, we instituted date nights.
You don't have to spend money for date nights. You can put the children to bed early at night and watch a movie or tv show together. You can give your children an early supper, put them to bed and make a nice meal for just the two of you to enjoy. The important thing here is to reconnect. Keep in touch with the person you married. He/She is growing and changing (everyone does) and just like you don't want to miss out on that with your children, you also don't want to miss out on that with your spouse. Take an interest in what he/she does. Ask about it. You don't want to get to your "empty nest" years and realize you have no idea who the person you've lived with for so long is anymore.
The best gift you can give your children is a strong marriage. It's the foundation of the family. With a strong foundation, anything built upon it will be able to weather any storms of life.
We have set aside the same day each week for our date nights. We do our best (and have been mostly successful) to make sure everything else (meetings, kids' extra curriculars, etc) happen around this date night. To my surprise, my husband's work peers have been baffled by this idea of date night....including the married ones!
Really? Is this really a foreign concept? Well, dear reader, if it is a foreign concept to you as well, allow me to explain its significance. I am a product of a divorce. I do not have a memory of my parents going out together, just the two of them. I had babysitters, but that was so both of my parents could work at night. Looking back, I realize that my parents most likely never made time together. I realize that they both worked hard to make sure our needs were met. However, the most important need any child has is for their mother and father to have a strong marriage....to keep the family unit (ie the child's support system) together. My father didn't seem interested in my mother's interests (I don't know if he even knew what her interests were) or vice versa. They were not friends and that's one big reason, in my opinion, they divorced.
Divorce is not an option for me. It's not that I'm necessarily against divorce. I understand and have witnessed situations where divorce is the only option because of abuse. This is not what I'm talking about. Divorce due to growing apart is what I'm against. I have told myself long ago that I was going to do my best to make sure my children did not have to endure what I endured with my parents' divorce. Those who say the kids aren't affected by divorce are wrong. They are affected. I just decided that I would turn what was an awful experience into a learning experience in an effort to have a strong marriage and family. So, when my husband and I started having children and feeling ourselves meeting every need of our children and not our own, we instituted date nights.
You don't have to spend money for date nights. You can put the children to bed early at night and watch a movie or tv show together. You can give your children an early supper, put them to bed and make a nice meal for just the two of you to enjoy. The important thing here is to reconnect. Keep in touch with the person you married. He/She is growing and changing (everyone does) and just like you don't want to miss out on that with your children, you also don't want to miss out on that with your spouse. Take an interest in what he/she does. Ask about it. You don't want to get to your "empty nest" years and realize you have no idea who the person you've lived with for so long is anymore.
The best gift you can give your children is a strong marriage. It's the foundation of the family. With a strong foundation, anything built upon it will be able to weather any storms of life.
We have honey!
Here's a youtube video of the honey we've gotten from our bees. It tastes oh so good!
click here to see the honey goodness
click here to see the honey goodness
Thursday, April 29, 2010
My Newest Endeavor
My daughter celebrated her 4th birthday on April 12th and wanted a Tinkerbell cake. Here it is:
Sunday, April 11, 2010
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