The good in trying times
Today is a focus on the good day for me because about 30 minutes ago The Man and I got into yet another argument with Hannah that ended in us sending her to her room and me saying that about 80% of what comes out of her mouth makes me angry. She’s in a horrible pre-pubescent stage right now and it’s all I can do to not pull my hair out…or hers. So to focus on the good of her this weekend I have to think about how cute she is when she’s happy and playing with her friends.
I’m grateful that we have a little girl next door for her to play with. When she’s not grounded from playing, that is. 2011 was a trying year with her and I see that 2012 will be too. Actually, probably until about 2018 or so we’re doomed to fight with a teenage girl. I’m sure Livie will be following close behind. I always wished we’d be close unlike my mom and I were but I’m starting to see that we’ll bicker with her through her teen years like most moms have to with their teenage daughters. I dread it because I miss our days…the days Livie and I still get to have. Makes me cherish these days with Liv a LOT because if she gets a major attitude like Hannah…well I’ll be mourning these days much like I am with Hannah. I rarely talk about how hard it’s been with her but it has been and well…there ya go.
But this kid? She loves her days with me and tells me now about 5 times a day that she loves me. Melts my heart and gives me hope that soon Hannah will come around and be the sweet kid she used to be.
She’s most happy when she’s eating. Go figure. With every bite she takes I kid you not, she dances a little dance and sometimes claps. It’s the cutest thing and I’ll miss it when she grows out of it. She expresses what we all feel when we eat…HAPPINESS!
When your friends come over and play with your kids while you cook…swoon.
Steak on a kabob on the grill…double swoon.
Instagram holla!!!
This week I’m determined to find the good in Hannah even when she’s mouthing off to me and I will cherish the good with Livie before it maybe disappears. Hoping and praying it doesn’t though. Raising kids is hard, y’all. I STILL sometimes feel like I’m not grown up enough to do this mom thing. Other times though, there’s this…
I’m doing something right along the way. Have a good week!
Pre-weekend quicky
It’s FRIDAY! Working or not, Fridays are awesome. Ya gotta admit it. My Fridays are usually pretty low key but today I’ve got a lot going on so just a quick before the weekend post for y’all.
She’s turned into a little mama. She took care of her baby all day. She fed her and held her and changed her diaper. I ignored the fact that she scolded her baby for not using the potty but she herself refuses to use it. We’ll be revisiting potty training next month closer to her 3rd birthday. Sidenote: THIRD BIRTHDAY!?!?! I went through my whole pregnancy on this blog and posted her newborn pictures here. Y’all have watched her grow up. This is insanity.
Anyway, yes a sweet little mama even if she does scold her baby.
An Instagram holla:
Have a good, happy, fabulous weekend!
Rainy day post
I had plans of Starbucks this morning with the girls in the family and a couple friends and a late morning grocery store trip and then maybe a quick nap with Livie.
It’s pouring rain outside so we DID make Starbucks but the store will have to wait. I figured it’d be a good time to catch up on some editing and get a blog post up for y’all. Yes, all 5 of you.
After my last post I decided to make a concious effort to pick up my camera more this weekend…to take more pictures like I used to. Whether I’m home with my girls or not all day, I still find myself scrolling through pictures on my phone of them. I love pictures and I wouldn’t have had to move 1000 pictures from my phone to Flickr if I didn’t. It’s time to get back to that me, even if I have to think about it more now than I had to before.
When I get shots like this I get happy because it’s not every day that your baby just stands there perfectly in the sunlight at just the right angle.
It’s my usually boring, mundane life that I love the most. It’s the life I craved…days like this where it’s rainy and I don’t have to leave the house but instead can edit photos and laugh at my silly girl.
Guess who’s crawling now?
Nannying this tiny man has been such a fun reminder of when my girls were this little…with Livie it seems like it was just yesterday.
It’s been unseasonably warm here the past few weeks. It’ll get chilly for a couple days and the temps go right back into the mid to upper 70s. That’s warm for January but I’m not complaining. I hate the cold and snow. I’ll take sun and shorts any day over that. So will my girls.
Especially when they can play outside all day and take ice cream breaks without needing a jacket.
And now something I kind of bit off of Kelle Hampton’s blog. I love sharing my Instagram photos. Y’all know this. I’ve been posting them on my blog for a year now. I’m kind of a freak though for uniformity and it bugged the crap out of me that the IG pictures were square and grainy looking while my camera pictures were rectangle and clear. Kelle starting putting her IG pictures in a collage and after months of seeing her do this every week I decided that I needed to do that too. She only does it once a week but I’m an Instagram fanatic so I’ll be doing it every post.
You’re welcome. And Kelle, thanks for the idea. You know you inspire me, woman. Also, a sidenote to the pic of me with the jersey on, the Texans had their first ever play off game and they WON it!!!! Enthusiastic, happy Texan fan = me. YAY!
Something else awesome about Instagram- you can now make phone cases for your iPhone with the pictures you take on there. I have this one coming to me and I can’t wait til it gets here! Casetagram.com. Check it.
Just heard another rumble of thunder in the distance. Livie just had me put on Toy Story 3 for the 100th time…and I’m gonna watch it with her under a blanket.
Happy Monday.
Thinking, not doing…yet.
My weekend started like this…
A surprise Taylor Swift concert for Hannah.
My weekend ended like this…
With my girls coloring together. Hannah’s idea. My babies. Loved it.
Yesterday afternoon The Man’s mom reminded me that this is the last weekend we have at home before Thanksgiving. We’ll be traveling to Ohio again as it’s become our yearly Thanksgiving tradition. This is the 3rd annual 22 hour drive that is somewhat traumatizing and yet worth it once we’re there with our family. I said all that to say that since this is the last weekend before Thanksgiving it means that it’s Christmas decorating time. I’ve done this the past 2 years before we went to Ohio and it’s the most awesome thing to come home from an exhausting trip to a beautiful, decorated Christmas tree. Y’all know me and the holidays. But with decorating comes organized chaos so I’m choosing to spend this week relaxing and pulling a bare minimum week because from Saturday on, we’ll be busy until New Year.
That is not an exaggeration.
Sidenote: Hannah turns 9 next month. NINE.
Moving along…
I have Baby E 2 to 3 days a week. Livie was jealous of him for like the first week but since then? She’s all about “the baby”. If he drops his toy, she’s right there picking it up for him. If he cries even a little Livie’s all “MAMA! Baby’s crying!!!!” I remember when Livie was just born, Hannah thought she was a better mom to her than I was and constantly told me if Livie even made a peep. Livie? She’s the same way with this baby. While we’re done having kids, it’s nice to see that if we did ever have another one, she’d be a sweet big sister.
Lots of planning going on in my head about our drive to Ohio, Thanksgiving spent up there, Hannah’s birthday, and of course Christmas. Going to spend the week thinking and not doing…yet.
Thanksgiving is in 2 weeks and this one can’t stop talking about turkeys.
She’s a smart girl.
Laid back
This week was just what I needed. A mostly do nothing week. Besides getting the kids where they needed to go on time, the couple horseback riding lessons Hannah had this week, and the movie the girls in the family and I got together to watch, it was just the kind of low key week we needed.
Hot tubbing at her grandpa’s house.
Wine after the kids go to bed.
Visits from friends who leave flowers for me to smell long after they leave.
Watching a napping baby…and puppy.
Having Livie’s cousin over after school to play.
And yes she did recruit another horse rider.
And our weekend has a lot of the same coming up. Besides a concert with Hannah tomorrow night, there is nothing planned. We’re gonna soak it up.
Happy Friday!
Reflections
As Hannah gets older and approaches the “tween” years, I find myself reflecting on when she was Livie’s age and that leads to me really REALLY trying to memorize every last detail of Livie’s life right now because I know with age will come that terrible tween years.
I’m not looking forward to it.
The tween years are coming and they’re stealing my baby girl. I barely can remember when Hannah was sweet and cute and funny like Livie is now. Instead I get “I don’t wanna talk about school” Hannah or “Don’t talk to me” Hannah or my favorite “You’re SO mean and you understand NOTHING MOM!!!” Hannah. It’s a rocky road here lately…it has been for a couple years now but everyone tells me this is the worst age and she’ll get better.
I pray so. I miss my little girl.
Some days, though, there’s a glimmer of her. Like the other night when she asked if she could help me make dinner.
And when she offered to read a bedtime story to Livie.
When the sweet, old Hannah comes out I do have that glimmer of hope that this moody age will pass soon and she’ll be back to her old self. Or at least a more mature version of herself.
So I spent a lot of the week focusing on Livie and really sucking in the age she is now. Everything we’re doing this season for Fall or Halloween we did last year but since she was only 1 last year she’s forgotten it all. When we lit the fireplace she was in awe. When I showed her her Halloween costume she had to have it on RIGHT. THIS. SECOND. That’s why I waited to show it to her til she could wear it to school on Thursday for her party.
Makes me so excited for Monday and trick or treating. It’ll be like the first time for her even though she went last year and she’s so vocal now. I can’t wait to hear what she says about it.
Speaking of appreciating her age right now, the little man I nanny is 6 months old already. I got him when he was 2 months old. He’s growing and changing so fast and before I know it, he’ll be her age and she’ll be 4. When I think about that, I want to freeze time for just a little bit.
More coming next week on all our Halloween festivities this weekend. Hope yours is fab.
At the ranch
Thursday evening last week The Man asked what I wanted to do this weekend. I told him it was totally up to him but I DID wanna do something Fall-ish if we could.
He delivered.
Our cool weather has disappeared which is nothing new but even though it was a muggy 85 degrees it was still Fall at this ranch and we loved it. We had never been here before but there was so much to do and the girls loved it. Something else I love? That The Man’s sister who I adore also joins us on these trips because she loves to suck in as much Fall as you can here in the most non-fall climate ever.
There were so many little farm animals everywhere and my girls who are animal fanatics ate this place up.
So really, Fall weather or not, we had a fantastic day. Their faces say it all.
And I just had the best time because I was with people that I love A LOT and I got to capture it all like I love to do.
When the day started it seemed like we’d need an act of God to get out of the house with both girls, without anyone complaining, without anyone crying…and yet when we were there it was anything but all the normal stuff I handle daily.
There were smiles and laughs and happy faces all around.
Especially from me, because I get to have this all. Blessed. That’s me.
Have a fantastic week.
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