Happy Easter Friends!

Happy Easter 2015!

This year we got to see and cuddle REAL bunnies!!!  It was so precious. The kids could hardly contain themselves, so not kidding! I think the photographer probably had to edit or throw out at least 25 pictures of the kids with their mouths wide open because they were so excited!!

Olivia and Brianna, Age 4.5, Hudson, Age 2.75

Livvy alone with her bunny - note the mouth wide open ;)

Bri alone with her bunny ;)

Hudson alone with his bunny;)

Hope you have a very blessed holiday with you and yours!

~Megan

Happy Valentine's Day 2015!

Valentine's Day is my favorite holiday.  Truly it is.  And it's not because it's a ridiculously commercialized holiday where flower shops can charge 4x the normal charge for flowers, mylar balloon sales are in the millions, or because couples go out to expensive restaurants to show their apparent love for one another.  No.  Although I DO love a good meal, that is the opposite of why I love Valentine's Day.

I love Valentine's Day because it is the one day each year that people are encouraged to focus on the love they have for one another and show each other how much they care.  Please note - this doesn't have to be anything romantic.  I mean sure, there are hearts and cupid and arrows and lips all over the place to designate the Valentine's holiday, but truly, I think Valentine's is more about showing others how much you care about them.  Every year I make little gifts for my unit staff for V-day.  This year I'm doing heart coffee cups filled with chocolates.  YUM.  And the point of me doing this is, my staff know that I truly care about each one of them and they ARE appreciated.  I know they really enjoy getting something at work on Valentine's Day (who doesn't?!).

So....Happy Valentine's Day to YOU!  I hope you know that I care about you, and thank you for reading my blog =).  Be sure to tell the people in your life how much you love them and care for them.  That's truly what V-day is all about! My kids share my love of Valentine's Day and even had pictures taken to commemorate!  They wish you a Happy Valentine's Day as well! Hope your day is awesome!

Until next time -

Megan

Everything Changes (when all I really want is for things to stay the same)

Props to the stay at home moms out there.  Props to the stay at home moms who have husbands that travel.  And even bigger props to the military families that have to run as single parent families while one parent is off defending our country.  I have a whole new respect for what each of you go through day in and day out.  Wow.  That is all.  What a different perspective.

Si took a new job in December.  Truth be told, he had to.  He was laid off from his previous job. They told him in October.  I'm still not sure why they let him go.  Maybe they weren't busy enough. Maybe Si was too expensive of an employee.  Maybe Si didn't do the paperwork the way they wanted.  I don't know.  Si took a new job December 15th.  Since December 15th he has been out of town for 9 days (8 nights).  Soon he will go out of town again, but this time for two weeks straight.  TWO WEEKS.

That means, for that two week period, I am a single mom to three young children.  A single mom who is also working full time, going to school, running the social events for our non-profit multiples organization, trying to make it to violin practice on time, doing a gazillion loads of laundry because the girls HAVE to wear three outfits a day and (surprise!) one of the kids peed the bed (again), and I'm trying to find time to cook a wholesome meal for my family (screw it, we may live on mac and cheese and hot dogs while Si's gone!).  It is exhausting.  I have a whole new respect for single parents, I truly do.

My post for the New Year introduced my word for the year: Joy.  Finding joy in the little things.  But holy crap....it is HARD.  I know my kids are growing at the speed of light.  I know soon they will be in school and won't want to hang out with me at. all.  But for now, I am having difficulty having fun being a mom.  I'm probably too busy.  I get that.  I did that to myself.  I do have to work full time, so that's a given, but school?  Is that really necessary?  What about my volunteer work?  If I gave some of these other things up, would I be better able to find the joy in my kids???  I'm not so sure.

How on earth are you supposed to know if you are doing the right things?  How do you decide what is most important? I know I am asking questions that don't have any real answer, but it's helpful to know that I'm not the only one thinking this stuff. I'm not, am I?! This mom gig is hard!!

I will leave you with a picture of each of the kidlets...in all of their growing-up-too-fast goodness.

Mr. Hudson - Age 2.5

Miss Olivia (left) and Miss Brianna (right)- Age 4

Have a great weekend peeps!

Until next time -

Megan

A Look Back, and a Look to the Future

As I look back on 2014 I see a year filled with many new adventures:

• The girls first day at Montessori
• Attempting to potty training a boy (they want to stand! Eek!)
• My first time actually eating sushi (and liking it!)
• SCUBA diving in Jamaica (and LOVING IT!)
• Swimming with the dolphins
• ”Single parenting” for a week while Si was out of town on business
• The kiddos trying crab legs for the first time (check that – hoovering 2 lbs of crab legs)

But it was also a year full of endings….

• My last nursing session with Hudson
• The girls last day at their preschool down the street, and the loss of new friends
• Our last ladies night in our neighborhood (after several awesome neighbors moved away)
• Selling the girls cribs, Hudson’s baby clothes, bottles, and toys
• The realization that I will probably never have another itty bitty baby of my own to snuggle, nurse, or wake up to at 3 AM.

“The ending of an era, and the turning of a page” as Tim McGraw would say…

So what is my focus for 2015? 

I saw a blog post a couple of years ago (when I still had the time to read blogs daily) where the writer chose a word or two to focus on for the upcoming New Year.  I think it’s a great idea, and I’ve decided to take on the challenge.  My word for 2015 is JOY.  I am going to make it my mission in 2015 to find JOY not only in the things I do, but especially within my interactions with my children.

Like any parent, I get frustrated with my feisty, often back-talking 4 year olds, and it keeps me from focusing on the good that they bring to my life.  It is amazing to see the world through the eyes of a child.  Christmas was a great example of that.  Oh how their eyes lit up when they met Santa and again Christmas morning when they opened their gifts – AMAZING! 

This year I intend to focus on understanding my children, their needs and aspirations, and try to harness the JOY that they bring me each day.  It’s difficult to parent toddlers and preschoolers.  I know it is.  But truthfully it’s not going to be anything compared to parenting teenagers.  I am not looking forward to that one bit.  I can truly see the importance of shaping and reinforcing now the behaviors I want them to display in the future, while I still can. 

To be perfectly honest, changing their behavior means checking my own behavior at the door before trying to correct theirs.  I have this habit of yelling at my kiddos when they aren’t listening.  Sound familiar?  Yelling at my children doesn’t stop them from yelling, or make them listen to what I am saying.  Instead, it shows them that it is okay to yell when they are upset, and it may even show them a “scary” side of mommy.  That’s not how I want my kids to see me.  I want them to see me as someone they can trust, someone they can talk to about anything, someone they can bring their concerns to. Not someone who is going to yell at them or blow them off because I am frustrated, busy doing something else, or don’t care what they have to tell me (for the 7^th time today). 

I hope to show my children more patience.  And I hope to be able to spend time with them while they still want to spend time with me.  I know my time is growing short to be able to spend good old fashioned quality time with my kids.  They will soon be introduced to the world of school, commitments, and ultimately other kids.  I want to make sure my kids really know that I love them and want to be with them and think they are great! It shouldn’t be too hard of a goal to reach, right?

Here’s to 2015!

What is your word (or words) for 2015?  Why did you choose it?

Until next time –

Megan