Learning to Leap

The Baby Blues. It's not what you think. I know you may be assuming from that title that I am feeling the ache of empty arms since I no longer have babies in the house.  I am staring longingly at the snuggly bundles of goodness I see with other mommies at Target or being pushed in their little strollers throughout my neighborhood.  You might think I am pining away for another baby and begging my husband for #4. Sister, you couldn't be further from the truth. In this case, "the baby blues" is referring to the fact that I am about 99.9% positive that my baby, the four-year-old, is indeed going to kill me before it's all said and done. I'm serious. If this child had been born first, she would be an only child because my husband and I would be scared to death to risk it again. For heaven's sake! Our first child was totally false advertising. She had us thinking this parenting gig was a piece of cake. What was everybody whining about? Our s...

Let's talk video games.   I know, I know, I'm a mother of three GIRLS.  You'd think this wouldn't really be an issue at our house.  We all know that the male species tends to have more of a problem with addiction to video games than females.  Definitely still true, but nonetheless, we have a video game issue going on over here in recent weeks. It all started with these: old, delapidated laptops which had spent years sitting in some closet at my husband's office.  Lucky for him, he knows someone who is skilled and prepared to help in just such a situation.   Within a few weeks, my hubby had two refurbished laptops ready to go.  He proudly brought them home and announced, "Hey, these will be great for schoolwork for the girls.  Just think!  They won't have to fight over your laptop anymore." I had to admit that was a little appealing.  But still...a 9-year-old and a 7-year-old with their own computers?  I wasn'...

Every once in a while I start feeling really sorry for my husband. The man grew up with Paula Dean, Martha Stewart, and Emeril all combined in his wonderful mother.   The woman can cook.  Seriously cook. And then there's me.   I remain convinced that cooking is a direct result of the Fall of man when sin entered the world.   Anyway, today I decided that my poor husband was long overdue for a good meal.  I loaded up the kids and took them to Publix, where we carefully selected each item we would need for one of his favorite dishes.   I got started right away when we got home.  I carefully chopped celery and onions so they could saute in the pan.  I added all the herbs and lemon zest and got to work carefully slicing the loaf of french bread to line the bottom of the skillet. And then came the part where nothing but true love would motivate me...I had to work with a whole chicken.   Eww!!!  Hate it!  W...

So I've had a teeny bit of trouble with stress lately. We just got back from THIS place last week. Let me tell you, the happiest place on earth is no relaxing day at the beach when keeping up with 3 kids in huge crowds and figuring out the best uses of your fast passes and making sure the kids see everything you know they'll love.  Great trip, NOT great for stress, though. But then again, what mom DOESN'T have some stress to deal with?  Or what human being, for that matter?!  I should be able to handle this, right? But alas, after several months of waking from sleep due to aching shoulders and neck muscles, I gave up thinking I could just buckle down and get through it. And for the first time ever, I visited a chiropractor.  I figured if it helped AT ALL it would be worth it, right?  Just a little instruction on some exercises I could do or things to avoid, or ANYTHING at all that would provide some relief and relaxation. Ha. I ...

Today is one of those days the Deceiver is working overtime. Thoughts like,  " someone else would do such a better job homeschooling my kids" "my friends who are mothers probably never lose their cool like I do" "I'm a lousy wife" "wonder how many issues I'm planting in my kids' hearts that they will have to go to a therapist to work through someday..." "no one is really buying this act I'm trying to sell.  Everybody sees right thru me and knows what a wonderful, homeschooling mom wanna be I really am" "I will never be the wife I should be.  It's hopeless."   have been after me all day.   Guilt.  Big time.  Failure is all I can see today.    So I tried to do something to make myself feel better.  Something a good mother would do.  I pulled out their American Heritage Girls handbook and we began working on earning their cake decorating badge.   We worked togeth...

Siblings. (they look pretty angelic in this picture, don't they?) You love 'em.  You hate 'em.  You adore their every move, you hit them with a hairbrush (not that I'd know anything from personal experience about this from my childhood with two sisters...ahem.  Sorry, Suzanne.). Sometimes my girls just can't take it.  The pressure gets to them.  The little annoyances of living with each other occasionally just builds up to an aggression that no one but God could hold back.  I don't think my kids are violent, but I suppose if I kept records of the biting incidents, the pinching, hitting, and shoving that has gone on throughout the years, I guess I might change my mind.   Sibling violence is not a pretty thing, but this is exactly what happened with my middle daughter a few weeks back.  My husband and I were very relieved that the incident did not involve actually hurting a sibling this time, but it was still pretty bad. I unders...

It's swim lesson season. This is an activity that evokes quite dramatic responses in some. Let's face it, parents.  Sometimes we just make our kids do some things they really, really hate.   Vegetables, bedtime, hair brushing, and bed making are a few at the top of the list at our house, but for some mysterious reason I will neither question nor take for granted, swim lessons have never been one of the hated activities.  My girls kinda like them, in fact.   This is not the case for many parents out there.   Take my niece, Helen Kate, for instance.  She's the one on the right.   She just finished private swim lessons with a fantastic, experienced teacher by her side.  This is a woman who's seen it all, dealt with every personality type out there, and has a great track record of helping kids succeed at conquering their fear of water and having fun in the pool.  She's great at it.  The patience of Job and ...