A Mixed Bag of Thoughts

I have been working on my projects and it still feels good.  Ottoman painted – check.  Boards cut, sanded AND painted and ready for the decorative expressions – check.  Glass block decorated for a Christmas gift – check.  Top of fridge cleaned – check (ohhh, so gross – need to do that one more often).  Kids clothes sorted and ready for the consignment store drop off – check…Lots to still do (it is never ending), but I have been trying to make a concerted effort to stop wasting time (like on the computer) and do something productive.  Wahooo!

I spent some time last week out practicing with my camera in the manual mode.  I definitely have a big learning curve, but it’s fun to see the results when you tweak something here and there.  I am going to photograph a friend’s family soon as a way to kick off my business – we are just trying to nail down a date.

Oh and I found a great Melissa & Doug fire truck floor puzzle for Little Man at a garage sale for $2. He loves it and I love the deal I got!

I was watching SuperNanny the other day and the mom on the show said something profound to me.  She said she has stopped looking at her kids as a “chore” and has been enjoying just being their mom.  I have not been able to stop thinking about that statement.  I think I have been guilty of thinking of my kids as a chore at times.  What a horrible revelation to me.  I love my kids beyond words and want nothing but the best for them and I have not been giving them my best.

I have been taking more time to play with Little Man during the day – that is after all why I am home and why we make the sacrifices we do.  I have stopped and just hugged my kids more than normal.  I have made an effort to just enjoy watching Soccer Girl (my 4th grader) play soccer instead of getting frustrated that I have to wrangle Little Man all the time.  I have let Lizard just play without demanding she do things on my timetable as much.  It is has been fun.

My kids are amazing to me – a mixed bag of emotions, energy, ideas, aggravation, eye rolling, foot stomping, love, giggles – just amazing.  I want them to know they are amazing.