The Other Side of the Door

So, let me first say I am probably going to offend a lot of people by writing this blog. However, it is not my intention at all. These are just my thoughts this morning, so please do not take offense. Everyone is their own person and does what they need to do for their family. :)

That being said, it is days like today I'd like to be on the other side of my garage door in the morning. I'd frankly today like to have Jeff's day. I am very blessed to stay at home. I wouldn't change it, and I know many women who would love to stay at home, but due to circumstances cannot. However, today I want to be the one to go to work.

I am sure these ideas are all fantasy and that Jeff would disagree and that any mom who works outside the home would disagree. Yet, there must be something freeing about leaving the home and not returning until evening. I will explain. . .

The past 2 days Jeff has left either with children screaming at each other, crying hysterically, in room time, or whining about what I have told them they are not able to do. For example, Sean cannot have girl scout cookies as part of breakfast. I look with a jealous eye as my husband kisses us all goodbye, screaming, tears and all and shuts the door and leaves off to work. Now I know that his job is stressful. However, he still gets to choose when he uses the bathroom & sometimes when he will eat lunch. No one is pulling at his leg if he is on the phone or talking to a colleague about their recent golf outing or what the agenda will be for that meeting. He can even sneak away for a short bit to grab a Starbucks coffee (on his work campus) if he so desires with a couple of colleagues. Today. . . I want to be on the other side of the door. I know he has meetings all day and that things are very stressful in the work place. But I also know he does have times for the occasional chat or joke or yes, STARBUCKS!!

When he leaves he doesn't have to look at pile after pile of laundry all day, he doesn't wash the floors only to have your kids spill the first thing they have all over the nice clean floors. He doesn't have to try and do his job (laundry, cleaning, vacuuming, toilets, bathroom, dishes) all while making sure his colleagues aren't jumping off furniture or putting things down the toilet. He doesn't have to worry about whether or not his employees went to the bathroom before a long meeting or whether they need help wiping their bottoms or changing their diapers. When he gets home he doesn't' have to (most of the time) worry about what is for dinner or if we have something he'd like in the fridge or if he will have clean boxers for the next day. When the door closes he doesn't have to do many sets of dishes a day while making lunch only to have it thrown on the floor by a screaming 2 year old, who then has room time because we don't throw food on the floor for the one millionth time!!

Obviously you can sense my dislike for the stay at home mommy tasks today. And my desire for just one day to be on the other side of the door. But as I write this, it occurred to me that if I was on the other side of the door, I would miss the requests to just "snuggle", which makes it all worth while. :)

Nesting and Chocolate

Okay. . so I have not blogged in forever, but right now I have quick second. Lauren is actually sleeping and I'd like to rest a bit too. We are doing an every other day nap deal. I has worked out okay this week. :)

I am nesting. I am currently fighting the urge to move all the furniture that needs to be moved for the baby. As I cannot lift it all on my own. But I have prepared as much as I can and will wait for Jeff to get home to move some things. Nesting is interesting. I don't remember having it this early with my other two. I am very particular about some things, but not others. For instance, I don't' really care about the laundry, but my baseboards are HORRIBLE. I desperately want to repaint every single one in my house. Alas, I am realistic and know this will not happen. I just can't swing that with 2 little ones running around that would like to "help".

AND CHOCOLATE!! So much for watching my weight with this pregnancy. That was out the window about a month ago. Forget it. . .as far as I am concerned this is the only time I can really eat the chocolate I want (balanced with veggies and fruit of course) and not have to feel really guilty about the possible weight gain and how much I will have to work out for succumbing to my temptations. I have decided I am just going to do it. If I feel like chocolate, I am going to have some.

Wondering no longer

The other day I was thinking about times before I had children. The questions I wondered about families and mothers. All the way from teenage years to adulthood before kids. Needless to say I will post the questions, but after becoming a mother of 2, I no longer wonder the answers! :)

-Why do moms always say they are tired? Why do they want to nap on a Sunday afternoon?
-Why is it that moms say they don't get to shower everyday? Shouldn't we all shower everyday?
-Why is it that some kids can spend all day playing in their pjs, shouldn't they get dressed?
-Why is it that some kids out and about have dirt/food on their shirt?
-Why is it that kids (girls in particular) don't always have their hair nicely combed and put up in some cute pony, pig tails or braid?
_Why is it that parents yell at their kids in public? Don't they have control?
-Why is that kid running up and down the aisles at the store?
-Why do parents allow their kids to eat stuff that is not healthy?
-That kid has a runny nose, gross!!
-Why is that child throwing a tantrum in the middle of everyone?
-Why is it that the child is trying to get out of the cart/car seat/stroller why doesn't it just stay put? After all I'd like to be pushed around like that! :)
-What is up with all the whining that kids do?
-I can't believe that child just yelled "NO!!" to that parent.
-Why do some moms seem always frazzled?
-Why are some houses never picked up?
-Laundry can't be THAT bad!

Needless to say these are embarrassing because obviously they are WAAAAAYYY judgemental. However, I NO longer question any of these things. . . I have now lived them all!!! If you have any fun ones, I'd love to hear them. . . or maybe I was the only one who ever thought things like this. . . .
HA! :)

Joy and Tears

I marvel at the way we were created for relationships. As a woman, I am also struck at how our relationships are so different from men, even at a young age. Our sweet little girl is now old enough to understand that this summer her mommy will give birth to another sibling for her.
Ever since she has realized this she has been asking, hoping, and praying to God for a girl. She has always called the baby a girl and insisted that it be a girl so they can play together.

Now, her she and her brother can play together just fine, and they actually really enjoy each other during several moments throughout the day, but she wanted a girl. She talks about her girlfriends at school and what they wear, and play, and color, and even the little arguments they get into on the playground. It is amazing that the Lord created those women relationships at such an early age. So Lauren was dying for a sister.

Having a wonderful sister of my own, I knew very well her desire. I never had brothers like she will, but I knew that there is this different bond between girls and especially sisters. So I think if I am being honest with myself, I desired the same thing for her.

Well, as you may know we had our sonogram this week. And found out what my gut had been telling me all along. We are having another BOY! :) I am so very excited and even more grateful and joyful that everything looks good with this little one we are blessed to have.
Yet, I will admit after we left the office I cried like a baby. Not because I was disappointed about having another boy, it will be fun for the boys to be close, but because I felt I was going to break my little girl's heart over this fact. That she prayed and so desperately wanted it to be a girl, & being a women, I knew what her reaction was going to be. Jeff told me not to worry she would be fine and that she would "get over it" and all would be well. I didn't tell him at the time, but I knew better!! :)

So I got in the car to pick her up from preschool and continued with my tears and my prayers that she would understand. That my spin of being the only girl and how wonderful that would be would work.

So, she got in the car and I showed her all the pictures that had been taken of our new peanut. She liked to look at them. Then I took a deep breath and told her the news along with my positive spin. She sat in her chair with a blank stare, stated that she would not play with a boy, and burst into tears. Big, huge, sobbing crocodile tears. Of course you can imagine what comes next, I burst into tears as well. She then proceeded to climb out of her car seat and onto my lap, crying, and crying as I am holding her and just simply stated "I want to go home now."
She climbed back in and we headed for home. Not really mentioning the baby anymore.
Later we spoke about how God gave us this boy and that he really knows what is best for our family. And the next day she just said, "I don't know why God wants us to have a boy baby". And all I could answer with is that I wasn't sure either.

This whole story got me thinking about how many times I ask God for things I want or even feel I need. And after praying and asking and hoping He doesn't say yes. I react a lot like Lauren did. I cry and am sometimes devastated. Yet, after a bit I might not be happy about it yet, but I learn to accept that it is from Him and it must be good. I still get teary when I think about my almost 4 year old girl's face at the announcement she would not have a sister. But then I thank God for teaching her such a wonderful lesson so early. That every good and perfect gift is from Him and he knows best, even if at the time we don't know why.

Hot Dog

For Christmas we got the kids floor seats to Playhouse Disney Live. The date finally came this past Friday and we had a great time. Jeff and I joke that we have never sat that close for concert we love, but have sat front row for the Doodlebops and floor seats for Playhouse Disney, go figure. Here are some pictures from our grand adventure. I posted some on FB, but I know not everyone is a FB fan, my husband included.

At the end when Jeff took our almost 4 year old little girl towards the front to see Minnie Mouse just a tad bit closer she gave him a huge hug and said "I love you!". And that ladies and gentlemen is what attending a show that your kids adore can get you! Sean, well he was just mesmerized by it all.

New Jobs

Since my little girl was about 18 months old, if anyone were to ask her what she wanted to be when she grew up she would always answer "garbage man". This has been her answer 98% of the time you ask her. Sure, for a brief moment she said doctor, but I think that is only because her friend was saying he was going to be a doctor.
Yesterday we spent a great morning at the zoo, just wandering around looking at animals when she exclaims that she wants to feed the bears. I explained to her that they only eat certain food, not "people" food, and that the only people allowed and responsible for feeding the animals was the zoo keeper.
She then says to me, "After I am a garbage man, I am going to be a zoo keeper." I laughed aloud. :)

New Door

After years of searching we found the "perfect" security/screen door. As pictured above. :) We have been looking and what seems to be thousands of designs and several companies for about 2 years. We finally found an amazing company and their turn around was the quickest of any of the companies we researched. We ordered the door last Friday and it was installed yesterday!!!! :) I am very excited about it especially since the little ones have learned to open the front door, but this one has a dead bolt on both sides, YIPEEEE!

So, I thought I'd share in my excitement.