Parenting

Adventure #1: I had grumpy kids. Staying at home did not seem like a good option. So we drove two blocks and changed the oil in the car. They had popcorn. The kids were happier. I am glad that kids enjoy popcorn and seeing cars lifted up.

chicken.JPG

Adventure #2: We wanted to go to the pond and maybe fish a bit. But as we pulled out of the driveway it started to rain. And hail. We drove around a bit thinking of things to do. There was a rainbow in the sky. We thought of visiting Grandpa and pulled up when he was leaving. Finally, we went and bought ice cream. Bubble gum ice cream is disgusting. It ended up in the garbage. Tears were shed.

asparagus.JPG

Trying out asapragus

It is hard to be a mom. I try to do my best, but I often don’t know what to do. The things I try go poorly. Or I maybe should try more in certain areas and less in others. All the parenting books and articles in the world can’t quite describe the unique relationship and struggles I have with my children.

Love them.
Listen to them.
Guide them.

Maybe the struggle with parenting most of all is it is easy to forget how simple it can be.

 

Rain, Rain

I was inside all day. The little boys and I made a pond upstairs and went fishing. I did a bit of cleaning, worked a tiny bit on Henry’s bedroom. Took a nap, and finished up the first go of my planner on my website because everyone was playing so nicely.fishing.JPG

They even dished up their own snacks and made their own dinner. I almost wanted to get upset when they bypassed my dinner plans in favor of their own. But I stopped. This was actually quite awesome. My six year old made dinner for himself and helped the four year old do it too. It was healthy. They can do that anytime they wish. Henry did come up to me covered in peanut butter though.

I had a community garden meeting to start our new season tonight. It was fun to get out and go talk with garden lovers.

Oh, and I had my husband change my password on Facebook and log me out. I’m on it way too much for now good reason. I’m excited to not have access.

Just Show Up

I practiced a little race walking. In the rain pushing a stroller. I’ve never liked running, but I do like to walk fast. It was the first time I’ve really race walked, and it was fun. It’s very beautiful outside, we are into the psychedelic spring phase where everything is blooming like crazy.

We had story time at the library, playing at home with lots of friends over today, and far too much procrastination on my part. My mantra today after a slower morning and a lot of negative thoughts on my part was to just show up. I didn’t need to do anything great but simply do the things that needed to get done, and be there for my boys.

I ran across a similar theme in a blog post and video. I have a hard time accepting that some days are worse than others: I want every day to be perfect. But it’s not going to be and some days all I really need to do is the bare minimum. There’s nothing wrong with slow days.

I did weed a big bucket of weeds, and helped my husband paint the ceiling. I wanted to try out a textured paint there.

ceiling.JPG

ceiling.JPG

To be honest, I like the look for such paint jobs, but I also do them out of laziness.

We had soccer in the rain. I had two little boys on my lap under a big warm blanket. One was hiding under the blanket. soccerc.jpg

Piano Lesson

I spent the morning cleaning up. Cleaning up vomit and poop. I would like to be done forever.

Curtis is so fun. He’s a middle child, quiet, and loves to play by himself, so sometimes he also easy to ignore. Today we sat down and did preschool. He was very attentive and smart, and much more easy going about it than his brother ever was. Later, he got out his piano lesson book and I went through about three pages with him and he wanted to keep going.

Besides all that, the most exciting part of my day was buying a huge amount of groceries. It was case lot sale time, and I love living in Utah where we have case lot sales. I feel about ready for a siege or zombie apocalypse.

And I loved this article. I tend to get really down on myself and think I am not good enough, or even think I’m too good. I compare myself against arbitrary measurements. I shouldn’t. What is true, is God has a work for me to do that only I can do. I do that work with a lot of His help, and by being myself.

Tulips

It was nice to get back to regular chores. I mowed the lawn for the first time and cleaned up the house, while listening to fun music.

transplants.JPGpetals.JPGAfter playing with the kids and having lunch, we decided to go on a near spur of the moment adventure. My mom has a pass to Thanksgiving Point that was expiring this week. We drove down to visit the gardens and farm. The kids actually quite enjoyed the gardens, and were troopers with all the walking. The boys’ favorites were the  fishes, tulips, and waterfall.

tulips.JPG

We saw a nesting owl and geese. And the goose attacked us. There were signs up warning of the nesting geese, so we kept what we thought was  an appropriate distance, until a goose flew across the ponds, flapped at my mom, and pecked Curtis’s head. No one was hurt, but Curtis was pretty shaken up. They can now join Peter in “I’ve been attacked by a goose” club. (A goose charged and pecked Peter when he was two. He was also uninjured.)

Henry loved seeing all the animals at the farm, until he had the opportunity to ride a pony. That was a horrible idea, and he was literally shaking with fear. His pony ride lasted 30 seconds.

ponies.JPG

It was a very good day until the end. On our way home, the final kid got sick and ended our little adventure with an explosion of vomit. Dinner was too salty. We watched a show and put everyone to bed.

Perfection

Growing up I thought the best way to live my faith was to be perfect. Then I made mistakes that got a lot worse than stealing a couple of pieces of candy from the bulk bins. And I realized that my faith in Christ should not be based on being perfect, but my faith allows me to overcome my sins and imperfections. I slide off the road on my journey in life, but the miracle of Christ is He can overcome any obstacle that I face. Believing in Christ isn’t about me being perfect, it’s admitting I’m not and I want help.

sick.JPG

The youngest two children were sick. I got a lot of cuddles in. The rest of us still made it to at least a portion of church. I spent the rest of the day reading, watching a lot of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, playing games and reading stories with the kids.

I found this article the other day, found it matched my feelings a lot. I’m glad that lately I’ve rediscovered myself and I’m actually enjoying life instead of getting stuff done.

Back Home

After 1200 miles of driving and sleeping in three different beds it is good to be home.

magnolia.JPG

My magnolias are coming out!

Although home is a bunch of work. Unpacking, laundry, catching up chores, re-planting some plants outside (it’s a good idea to check your landscape design before you plant something), and painting a bedroom.

painting.JPG

It’s fun too. I read, went on a bike ride with H, and played in the sandbox with the kids. The kids were mostly happy to be home, they had a friend come over and lots more to do than they had sitting in a car. For 1200 miles, the kids were troopers on this trip. Hardly a word of complaining.

foodforest1.JPG

This is a picture just for reference. We are mostly through planting the area by the fence with a food forest this year. I’ve planted grapes, apple tree, plum tree, bush hazelnuts, strawberries, asparagus, rhubarb, raspberries, and honeyberries in this area. We have a few more fruit trees coming soon.

Driving

If you happen to be by Douglas Wyoming, stop by Ayres Natural Bridge. It was a great stop with the children. They had a playground to play at, and a mini hike up to the top of the bridge, and lots of fun throwing rocks into the stream.under

We started out at my sisters, and I’m happy to be heading home. After the bridge, we stopped by another park in Casper and drove a lot. The kids (and parents) are getting a bit restless in the car. We are pit stopping at my older sister’s and tomorrow we will finally be home.

Day at the Lake

My sister lives in a beautiful place.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I wasn’t sure what to expect going to the middle of Wyoming to a place I’ve never heard of, Glendo State Park. There was a fun playground where we played hide and seek, hikes to go on, Sandy Beach, and water to boat on. In the middle of the week in April, hardly anyone else was around.

Pioneers

We drove up to Martin’s Cove and Independence Rock today.wagon.JPG I had an ancestor who trekked through there which made it extra special.

pull.JPG

We climbed to the top of Independence Rock. I had to bribe Peter to get there, and he was terrified the entire time and made it down in tears. I quite enjoyed it though.

rock.JPG

Now we are hanging out at my sisters. The cousins love playing, with six kids it is wild and fun.