Adjusting

That's the way I feel that it has been around here for the past couple of weeks.

We are all adjusting to being in the school routine again.

I'm adjusting to wearing a retainer.  

I'm adjusting to being in charge of PTO (Lord, help me!)

The car has had issues and the cat has been sick and it took 3 days to get ready for the kid's birthday party.  

I've had emails galore, but I really do love email.  It's basically became my to-do list!

There are SO MANY things to do and so not enough time to do them.  

I know that most of the time, I overwhelm myself and it seems worse.  

The calendar is busy with appointments and spelling tests and Bible study and AWANA and Razorback games  and Bentonville games and PTO and there is more stuff I am sure.

But, there is one glorious thing coming up on the calendar- Labor Day!!!  I'm ready for a day off!

I've been mostly absent from Twitter and Facebook lately, because ohmyword it is election season and I don't know how much I can take!

I'm hoping we get nice rain from Isaac, but no damage please!

And I'm finally getting my hair done Friday!

And the first Razorback game is Saturday night! Go Hogs!

I need a break!!!

Labor Day-  you and I are going to have a nice time!

My Week

My early week was definitely < my later in the week.

It started with an issue with our car we had to get fixed. $$$

Then some unnecessary drama. :-(

And some very overly tired children caused some drama. 

Poor babies.

They are LOVING school and doing so good!  

But, the boy child did not get enough sleep one night and then didn't nap at school that day, and let's just say that evening was not enjoyable at all.

Last night was awesome though!

They always have lots to tell about their day!  They have made new friends, been to all their special classes, C Girl is loving the reading "tests" they have been having,  and B Boy said that he was line leader yesterday :-)

oh my goodness, they are holding hands! My momma heart loves it!

At dinner is when we talk about our high points of the day.

And it was so lovely outside last night, so we all played outside for awhile.

After that, it was bath, stories, snack, and bed!

Yesterday, my friend April and I went to Olive Garden for lunch and then we and got pedicures!  It was such a nice treat! I really needed to relax and enjoy myself for a bit.  I'm very, very thankful for the great friends that I have.  Our friend Jennifer was going to join us, but she is due on Saturday to have a baby, so we completely understand that uncomfortableness!  We can't wait to meet that baby girl!

Today, I have SO much to do! Cleaning house, baking cakes, getting ready for our family evening tonight, and getting ready for company tomorrow!  I cannot wait to see Keith, Jessica, & Parker.  And, on Sunday, I can't wait to see the rest of our family!

Life is one big change and evolution

My days really seem to move at a faster pace than they used to. It feels like this past year has flown by. Inside these busy days, there have been SO many good things happening.

I do longingly remember the days of toddler hood. We had a nice, relaxing routine- get up, eat breakfast, play, possibly a morning nap, lunch, a little play, glorious afternoon nap and then playtime before daddy came home.

Sometimes, we also went to the library and occasionally the store, but that was it. Plus, being in a small town, there weren't many other options of things to do! But I reveled in the simplicity.
Of course now, we are in a more populated area and the kids are school-aged, and with school, activities and church, our busyness has sometimes felt never ending!
But things are starting to come to an end (for the summer anyway).

In a couple of weeks, I will officially be a mother of a kindergartner and a first grader (wha??)! 

I am so proud of everything the kids have learned and accomplished this year. 

I'm so proud of them sometimes that I could bust! 

It is so amazing to watch them grow and learn! They have both learned scripture verses, both are READING, C Girlie has been learning ballet and B Boy is learning to play baseball.
As happy as all of this makes me, I have to be honest and say that I am truly looking forward to a low key summer!
The kiddos will have swim lessons and VBS, but other than that, we are only doing fun summer things! I'm so excited to be volunteering to help with VBS this year. Our church has an amazing program. I took the kids to it last year, but we have met so many people in the church since then and I totally feel comfortable volunteering now. 

That is another thing that blows my mind- this time last year, we knew no one in our church. 

We started Sunday School last August and other activities at church and has made a world of difference. It has been so great meeting and getting to know so many wonderful people. 

I know this post is wordy, but it feels like a chapter is closing and a new one one is opening. 

Of COURSE, I must reflect on this, lol! 

I am beginning to feel that I am a part of my church, school, and community. 

This July, we will have lived here for two years. It does take time to find your place, at least it seems to for me. 

I feel like I have grown in my spirit so much.

 
Moving to a new community and losing my MIL and being away from my best friend almost broke me. 

I had a hard time for months, maybe longer.

I feel like I've overcome that. 

My heart has been healing. God has been healing it. 

My struggle now is watching my children become their own selves, big kids. But, I recognize my struggle and I try to give it to God. I'm sure there will always be a part of me that is sad to see them grow, but oh, how amazing it is as well. 

I feel like turning 30 was a major milestone for me. In a few days, I'm going to be a "thirty-something" from now on. And I'm good with that. 

Last year, I was sad to see my 20's gone. 

This year, I'm excited to see what the 30's have in store.

 

I never knew that I would change so much as an adult. 

I hope to pass that on to my kids, that life is one big change and evolution. We are continuing to grow everyday. Maybe only in our spirit, but some form of change will constantly be taking place.

Kindergarten Mother's Day program 2012

Pictured (left to right): Soon-to-be 1st grader, Soon-to-be 31 year old, Soon-to-be Kindergartner

What the parenting books don't tell you about

I have something that has been weighing on me deeply for awhile now.

I have always been pretty confident at this parenting gig.

Not like, ooh look at me! I have it all together! More like, I think I've got this.

Since my kiddos are Irish twins, everything we have dealt with has been back to back. And it's been great.

The hubby and I loved looking at the developmental milestone charts to make sure our kids were "on target."  And it was nice to have a "guide" of sorts.

However, around the time that kids start school, things start to change.  They are more independent.  As a parent, you are not reading books or milestone charts anymore.

At least, I'm not.

It's not only about physical and emotional needs anymore.  There is so much outside influence and morals to deal with now.

One day you wake up and think, what am I doing?!

Am I raising them right?

They are growing up too quick!

My heart hurts!

Why did the books not say how bad it would hurt to see them get bigger?!

I am at the point of having a 5 1/2 and a 6 1/2 year old.  They are big kids now. I won't have another baby. No matter how many photos and videos I have, they still grow up.

I know I have savored the days. I know I enjoyed the absolute most out of them growing up.

Some days, it physically hurts my heart.

Not to mention that everyone I know has babies, toddlers or preschoolers.  I feel like the only person I know who has big kids only.

I now understand why older mothers have so much to say about their kids and what their kids did and how much they miss it.

I'm going to be one of those mothers.

So, have some patience with me and those mothers.  We are not trying to be pushy or give advice, we just really miss our babies being babies.

Me

I Am... Saved. Happy. Loved. Almost 31.

I Want... a beautiful, big kitchen.

I Have... a lot to be thankful for.

I Wish... I was closer to family.

I Hate... the lack of compassion that people have for others.

I Fear... tornadoes, the interstate, deep water.

I Hear... Super Hero Squad show on the TV.

I Search... for recipes often.

I Wonder... what my kids will grow up to be/do.

I Regret... just some things in college and a few things since.

I Love... family, friends, food.

I Ache... to keep my kiddos little.

I Always... have coffee in the morning, it's a necessity.

I Usually... remember names and birthdays.

I Am Not... a morning person. At.All.

I Dance... not enough.

I Sing... in the car when I'm by myself or with Jessica and happen to have a Taylor Swift CD!

I Never... watch TV anymore, boohoo :'(

I Rarely... have a clean house

I Cry... at church, at movies, at music on the radio.

I Am Not Always... in a cheery mood. I can be pretty irritable at times.

I'm Confused...  by people feeling like they have to do things just because other people do it.

I Need... to drink more water.

I Promise... everyday to try and be a better mother, wife and friend.

Thanks for passing on this neat idea Katie!

My Granny's house

I miss my Granny Cates so much.  I was blessed with an amazing woman as my grandmother.  I did not get to meet her until I was 8 and then she passed away when I was only 26.  She was 5 days shy of 97 years old.  


I loved going to her house.  I started going to her house for weeks in the summer after my mom took me to meet her when I was 8.
I'll provide a little back-story- Granny is my biological father's mother.  He and my mom divorced when I was an infant and he was never really part of my life.  I did meet him when I was 8 and then he passed away right before I turned 10.  My mom had remarried and we had lived in another state for a lot of my early years.  I guess my mom determined that I was old enough to meet my family and begin a relationship with them.


My Cates side of my family are the family that I am closest to now, besides Tim's family and my immediate family.  They welcomed me into the family as if I had never not been there.


I loved my Granny's house.  It was well over 100 years old.  It was built when nails were square.  She showed me one of the square nails before, so neat! Everything about it was old fashioned, and it was almost like stepping back in time when I went to visit her.


I remember the swing on the porch.  Her and I would sit there and swing in the evenings.  Sometimes we would see things like deer in the pasture or other little woodland creatures.


Her and I would also go on walks down her road on warm summer evenings.


There were many family photos to go through and look at.  Her and I sat down and made a family tree together one time.  I still have that information and I've made trees for other sides of my family as well.


My Granny never learned to drive a car, so my aunt would come pick her up to run errands and get groceries.
While she may not have known how to drive, she always tended her own garden and mowed her own grass, even into her 80's!


She loved cats and always had food bowls filled up on the front porch from them.  I carry the same love for cats that she did, maybe more so.


I remember that she loved Coca Cola and she always had Virginia Brand Ham in the fridge, homemade red plum jelly in the pantry and some sort of sweet on the kitchen table.  I remember waking up to eggs, bacon and biscuits almost every morning.


Granny's house was the place that family stopped by to visit.  It seemed that there was always someone stopping by.  I loved those visits. While I stayed there in the summer, I got to see so many other members of my family. Some of my cousins were practically raised there and I know that they have many more memories of her and her house.


She was the glue that held our family together.  Now, the majority of us don't get together very often.  I still keep in touch with a lot of family technology wise, but there is just something about all of us being together that I dearly miss.


I've never heard anyone say anything bad about my Granny.  She welcomed anyone in her house and was always offering something to drink or something to eat.  No one left her house feeling unwelcome.


I have so many memories attached to that house. So many good, good memories.  I miss so much, but I'm so thankful for those memories.

Meeting Goals {even if they are contradictory!}

I know that I didn't formally announce any resolutions on my blog, but I did make some.  Two of them were- to slow down and to volunteer more. Contradictory, much?!  


I felt like 2011 flew by.  It was a year with much anticipation and I spent a lot of my time waiting for the next thing that was to happen. If you read this post, then you can see just how much happened in my life last year.


After all of that, I knew that I wanted to take some time to take it easy, slow down, and enjoy this season in my life.


There are some projects I would like to get caught up on- Organizing my pictures all the way, backing up my blog entirely, and finishing my recipe book.  These projects take time and I can't seem to find enough time to accomplish them!


My days, these days, are chopped up into 1 and 2 hour increments.  I take B boy to preschool, then pick him, make lunch, get him down for nap so I can accomplish a few things, then get him up so we can go pick up C girl, come home and have a snack before taking her to ballet and then come home to make dinner.  After dinner is AWANA study and reading and getting ready for the next day.  And that is just Monday!  Tuesdays are busy with Bible study and volunteering in C girl's class.  The rest of the week is similar to Monday!


I know next year, when they are both in school, things will flow better.


My other goal, to volunteer more, is coming along.  Slowing down and volunteering more seem very contradictory when they are used together!  I hope to find a good balance between the two!
 As I said, I have begun volunteering in C girl's class every Tuesday.  I also was asked to be a Care Group Leader for my Sunday School class.  Along with that, I also volunteer with the PTO.  I'm hoping to find more ways to give of my time to help others.  


I feel that things are opening in my life right now.  I've let go of some things that had been eating at me and I've begun to meet a lot of really awesome ladies through church, school and dance class.  


I have some blog posts that I need to catch up on.  We did some hiking at a couple of new places recently and I want to share those pictures.  I will be posting recipes here and there because I want to have a lot of our family favorites to share with you in the Recipe Tab at the top of the page.


I made these yesterday and that was really fun-

I'm hoping to make a Valentine's wreath using these felt flowers and maybe a headband or two for C girl.


Here's to meeting goals and finding balance doing it!

We have entered a whole new phase & {Ballet}

Every stage in the kids' lives has seemed normal and familiar to me thus far. 


I have been the caregiver, making decisions and taking care of physical, emotional and mental needs. 


With them being 1 year apart, the landscape of life has stayed very familiar.  


But now. 


Now we have entered a whole new ball game.  


The stubborn, strong-willed girl of mine has been changing.  She is now 6 and oh-so-much more sensitive than ever before. She is so impressionable now.  Her life is changing and she is dealing with all this change, all of this "growing up."


Now, not only am I meeting the needs that I previously was, but I'm working to build her character.  Now, I'm not saying that I haven't always been doing this, because I have.  However, it seems that at this stage in her life, it is really beginning to take on a permanent development.  


She is becoming independent and has the option to make some of her own decisions now(things having to do with school and activities and how she feels). 


She is learning and interacting with people on her own.  She has her own friends and it is a separate part of her life away from me.  


She is beginning the stage that will ultimately end with her one day leaving the nest.

She has chosen ballet lessons now.  She is so beautiful in her leotard and skirt.  It's so amazing looking forward to what this child is going to accomplish.