Category: gratitude

children, gratitude, happiness, humor, kids, life in pictures, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

What We Did For Thanksgiving Vacation

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Whew!  Full Speed had a whole week off and T.Puzzle stayed home most of the week, too.

You know some mayhem ensued.

Oh how it did.

We were a busy bunch.

The week started with a ‘date’ for Mom and Full Speed.

The boys saw Santa with their cousin.

We celebrated Thanksgiving and Mad Dog’s birthday.  And yes, as a nation, I do believe in our entirety, we felt extreme gratitude that Mad Dog’s birthday coincided on this special day.   Or something like that.

 

Then, Mad Dog and I celebrated his birthday again as Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Pink graciously hosted our boys.  Upon our return, it is unlikely they will be invited back anytime soon.  Apparently, someone really needs to talk to their parents about their rowdy behavior.  Our apologies.

 

love you, Mad Dog!

Then, if all that wasn’t enough, we decorated our Christmas tree.  I tried oh-so-hard to let the boys do their thing without anxiously hovering about.  They seemed to have fun and I did too, just as long as all our breakable ornaments were hung at the top of the tree (by me!).

By the end of the week, we had two very tired boys on our hands.

 

So glad they have an 'off' switch.

 

When all was said and done, the thing that I am most grateful for is that I was actually sad to send them back to school because we had so much fun together.

Mothering these two strong spirited boys has not been without challenge.  To be able to say that I am honestly going to miss them as they trounce back to school is a turning point.

I am learning that even though there were days during vacation that they drove me to tears with their outlandish and stubborn behavior, I am now beginning to see the emergence of who they really are underneath.

Thankfully, they are two very cool little dudes.

Hope you all had a great holiday!

children, gratitude, happiness, kids, marriage, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Cupcakes and Picnics

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With Mad Dog away, in the evening I have decided to watch the Sound of Music with the boys.  Each night we curl up in our loft and watch the adventures of Maria unfold.

It seems they are enjoying it.  Full Speed woke up on Monday singing “How do you solve a problem like, Mari-aaah?”  He also is growing quite a crush on the littlest Von Trapp, Gretel.  “Mom, she’s so cute.”

T.Puzzle, well, he loves anything musical.  That is how I know we are related.

As the Von Trapp children traipsed through the fields of the Austrian mountains, Full Speed was very concerned that they left their picnic food unattended.

“Who is going to clean that up?” he wondered.  He’s not at all phased that the cast breaks into spontaneous song or that they end up in 47 different locations during the song’s 4 minute montage.  Nope.  He’s worried about the picnic.  In fact, he’d really like a picinic.

T.Puzzle wants one, too.  He would like to have chicken and cupcakes on the menu.

Do-Ray-Me-Fa-So it looks like a picnic may be in our future.

Know any good cupcake recipes?  I bet Maria would.  If nothing else, maybe I’ll break into song about it later.

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A Clean Conscience

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It has been a gorgeous weekend.  I have been outside with the boys watching them play in our cul-de-sac for hours and hours.  Our neighbors have been out to keep us company.

I asked my one neighbor if Mad Dog calls her to come and talk to me.  That way he can go inside without guilt and watch football.  She claims he does not but her timing seems to coincide with important Buckeye games.

It starts with the boys grabbing their bikes and I’ll start chatting with my neighbor.  Mad Dog silently sidles up to us with a lawn chair and powerade for me.  He casually sets it in the shade as I am a contradictory Florida girl who prefers shade to direct sunlight.  He stands a moment or two and like a henchman for Don Corleone, waits for his boss to nod his dismissal.

I always grant his discharge.  I can’t say it’s without a grudge but it sure beats sitting inside on a gorgeous day watching a football game (in my not-so-humble opinion).

When I was outside this afternoon he not only watched football, he cleaned the house and did laundry.  He’s leaving for a business trip in a few hours and will be gone most of the week.

Clean house, clean conscience I suppose.

children, gratitude, happiness, kids, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Eye of the Tiger

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It finally happened.  Mad Dog now has an office less than five minutes from our house.

Since Mad Dog seems to struggle with work/life balance, this should help him considerably.  I hope he uses his saved commute time for good and not… more work.

Either way, it’s nice to know that he is nearby even if we can’t see him.

T.Puzzle and Full Speed were thrilled as we dropped Mad Dog at his new office.

“When are you taking me to work, Daddy?” asked T.Puzzle.  Apparently working with Dad is pretty amazing.  There’s work, there’s time to play with matchbox cars and don’t forget the best part which is a hot breakfast.

We said our goodbyes and as we drove away I explained that in the evening we would be able to pick up Mad Dog from work and go to dinner as a family.

“It’s a good thing we are going to get him, Mom,” Full Speed said.  “He’s not going to be able to see.”

“Why is that, Full Speed?”

“It will be dark and dangerous.  There might be tigers hiding in the trees that could get him, too.”

I had no idea the neighborhood we lived in is teeming with such danger.

I have called Mad Dog many things (most of them good), but tiger bait, well, that’s definitely a new one.

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Choices

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In life you can’t choose your family.   You are born into a family and all its complicated dynamics whether you are ready for it or not.  If you decide at some point to have children of your own, the only thing you control is who you choose to help you parent this family.   Sometimes, circumstances make this choice seem impossible as well.

So what can you do?

You could spend your days wishing you were someone else.

Or, you could look at your life, accept it for what it is and be thankful for the ways, even the smallest ways, that you can make a choice.

Today, I am choosing to look at all the ways that my life and family are good.  I can say I am truly thankful to have two, wild rambunctious boys that keep my life crazy but ultimately undeniably interesting.  I am thankful to have a true partner in Mad Dog.  To know he’s got my back will carry me through anything.

I realized if all I do is look at my life as a disaster, then that is exactly what I will find.

If I choose to look at how amazing it is in this very moment, that might be exactly what I find, too.

What choice would you make?