Attempting to be a Super Mom

This is my first time participating in Show and Tell Friday.  I'm really excited about it too.  Why don't you pop on over to Sandra's blog, Diary of a Stay at Home Mom , and see where this cool meme started. I'm excited to show you my jewelry box.  All of my great grandparents died either before I was born or when I was quite young.  I only have a few very vague memories of my Great Grandma Holt, but when she died, I was given this music playing jewelry box. I always kept it hidden in the top of my closet like some treasure that was all mine.  I'd never had anything this nice before and it meant so much that it was given to me!  The screws holding the lid on are stripped out in some places, and it's obviously got some wear and tear.  Maybe some day I'll get it fixed. The inside is so soft and when you open it, it plays a beautiful little song.  It reminds me of the music box, at my Grandpa's house, that I used to sit on the couch wit...

A friend of mine posted online a link to Scary Mommy .  It's about mommy shaming and why we do it.  My good friend Torren and I discussed some of this one evening, and agreed with one of the reasons listed.  We post only the good things on social media.  The good things our kids do, vacation, outings, children awards and first days.  We don't post the bad times, the times we break down, the times our kids are being rotten, well, being typical kids.  We basically lie to the world and only see lies.  In an effort to fix it, here goes my truth. Right now, I'm going through some rough patches with my little ones.  Particularly Sydney and Rylie.  It's attitude central from two extremely stubborn girls.  They both make up their minds that they are going to do what they want to, and nobody is going to stop them.  When you stop them, it's a nightmare. Yesterday, Rylie decided at Ben's school that she was going to sit in Ben's seat. ...

Some days, I wake up beyond exhausted and feeling like I could sleep the day away.  Today is one of those days.  I don't though.  I just persevere, and, with lots of help from caffeine.  Yes, lots and lots of caffeine! I do have a slight Starbucks addiction.  They have delicious beverages and food, and their cd collection is spot on!  There is no beverage more refreshing on a hot day than an iced peach green tea lemonade. This morning, at the Starbucks drive thru, the woman in the car in front of me, paid for my drinks, so I paid for the car behind me.  I love when people are good to other people.  I was trying to explain what happened to Sydney, but she was so confused as to why I still got my drinks, even if the people in front of me paid for them, and maybe because I paid for the people behind me, I got their drinks.  I tried telling her that by me paying for the car behind me, maybe they paid for the car behind them, and maybe they...

I don't want to jinx anything, but I think I'm starting to get in the swing of things already. I did forget to mention, in all the busy-ness we've been going through, that I took Maya to the vet last week.  She's had some problems with her back legs.  I should also mention that she's a big black lab, so arthritis is pretty common.  I guess I just didn't know what causes the arthritis. I guess a long time ago, back as a much younger dog, she tore her ACL in both knees.  I asked how that even happens, and she told me it's common from running or jumping and especially common in labs because they do more jumping that a lot of dog breeds. After those injuries, she got arthritis in the knees.  Because we didn't know at the time, we weren't able to get the problem fixed before arthritis and any surgeries now won't stop or fix the arthritis.  Sometime in the last week or so, she tore what was left of the ACL on her left hind leg and wasn't ...

What a wonderful weekend it has been.  I'm so glad to enjoy it with my family.  This was the last weekend before soccer and our Saturday mornings become complete chaos. I'm finding myself getting all wrapped up in the kids lives, which is something I really do love about being a parent, even though sometimes I ache for some me time.  Sydney is getting ready for preschool.  She'll go two mornings a week starting next week.  Her open house is this Thursday morning.  She also has dance on Monday evenings.  I promised her I'd look into a gymnastic class since I vetoed tap class.  Her dance studio is in Eudora which is only a couple of miles out of Lawrence, but on the other side of Lawrence from where we live and with all of the students here in this small town, traffic stinks and it's about a 30-45 minute drive one way.  I didn't want to do that 2 nights a week.  She's also playing soccer again, but only on Saturday mornings.  Ben is...

Happy Monday everyone!  Hope you all have had a wonderful weekend.  Mine was busy busy busy. I'm hopefully prepared for a new week, however busy it may be. Breakfast time....what is on the plate this morning:::: Frozen blueberry waffles, fresh strawberries, cold brew coffee with chocolate milk. On today's to do list:::: Put laundry away Make beds Finish the invites for Ben's' birthday party Sew the button back on Shawn's shorts Sew Sydney's dolls ripped back Sew the back of the kids giant teddy bear's neck closed Cook dinner and do dishes Take Sydney to dance Currently reading:::: Game of Thrones by George R R Martin  I'm really longing for more opportunities to read! On the TV today:::: Hart of Dixie The weather outside is:::: It has been so hot!  I can't wait for it to cook back down a little so we can get back outside.   On the menu this week:::: Monday L:  Salad and sandwiches D:  Grilled po rk bacon patti...