Attempting to be a Super Mom

Wooohooo!  Look who is on top of her game this morning!  I'm here for Happy Homemaker Monday, and it's been ages! The weather::: So cold this morning.  I woke up and it was a freezing 28 degrees.  Thank goodness for remote start on my car. It made the drive to school this morning, much warmer. As I look outside my window::: The sun is shining so bright and the sky is blue. Right now I am:::  Sitting in my bed with Rylie and Scotland, and watching Peppa Pig. Thinking and pondering::: Thanksgiving! I'm getting excited and the stress hasn't hit me yet.  I also need to work on my grocery list and put an order in so that it's all delivered tomorrow. On my bedside table::: A knocked over pile of books, 7 to be exact, and a little toy disney princess that belongs to Scottie. On my tv this week::: I have a few shows on my DVR to watch this week as well as the scheduled ones. I need to catch up on Doctor Who as I'm a couple of weeks behind.  I a...

Yesterday really began the holiday season for us.  If you know me at all, you know that I truly get wrapped up in the holidays, Christmas especially. A friend of ours invited us to his house for a pre-Thanksgiving party.  He made a Turducken and we all made sides.  Friday evening, Shawn and I made corn casserole, cranberries, Nutella cheesecake, and what was supposed to be homemade bread but ended up being Wheatfields bread after my bread machine crapped out.  No worries, this was a dry run for us.  We have a new bread machine on the way and due to be delivered tomorrow. We let the kids help make the corn casserole and they really enjoyed getting involved.  Sydney and Rylie jumped at the opportunity while Ben took a little coaxing.  He enjoyed it but had other things he wanted to do instead. Friday night, we ran Shawn's car to his Aunt Susie so that she could borrow it for the weekend for Uncle Mike's food visit, and really until Thanksgiving as Sh...

We have had some truly gloomy and rainy weather here lately.  I don't know about you, but that makes me want to go into hibernation mode.  I just want to curl up in my home, watch movies, read, crochet, edit videos, blog, and of course cuddle my babies. Sometimes they let me cuddle them and sometimes they cuddle each other. I find that we spend so much time out and about during the week, and even the weekend, that on days the kids don't have school, I just want to chill at home.  I'm such a homebody anyway. That's where I am today... sitting at home, feet up on the ottoman, watching a movie while the girls play with ponies and watch Yo Gabba Gabba. Today is early release day, or Wacky Wednesday as they call it at school, so I pick the kids up at 1:30 and Ben has an art class tonight from 4-5:30.  Other than those times, I plan to be at home, nice and cozy.

So, I'm here today, much happier than I have been in my past few posts.  We've had our rough moments and hiccups, but the days truly seem better with the kids and I.  I'm so thankful that I have a place like my blog and my vlog to just vent.  Let it all out and move forward with my life instead of continued wallowing.  Hey, maybe I helped someone else feel not so alone in this world of social media, where everything looks perfect, all of the time. I don't know about you.  I honestly have a really wonderful and blessed life, but it's not always great and happy. That's what I'm here for, to mostly share good times and memories, but from time to time, to break down, cry, and pour my heart out.

So, while the broccoli cooks for dinner, I thought I'd sit down and escape my life for a moment or two.  Tune out the constant tantrum Rylie has been in all day and have a moment of mommy time.  I read a recent blog post by my friend Sandra.  She's always got words of wisdom, and sometimes, I feel like she's looking in my windows and the posts are really about me and my life.  I know that's weird, but today, it really spoke to me. Sandra's post was talking about how she was going to get on here to post about how life is so unfair and how bad things are but instead realized that maybe her negative thinking is bringing the negativity to her.  Maybe, I'm doing the same.  Most of my posts lately have been about the tantrums, the not listening, and the disrespect at home. I should be happy with what I have.  I have a roof over my head, a wonderful loving husband, and four beautiful children that ::gasp:: occasionally act like children. I think my posts ...

Today was and still is a struggle.  Last night, we were up later than the kids should have been.  I know, I'm to blame.  I knew last night that today would be rough.  I didn't realize it would be this bad. I'm on the verge of shutting myself in my room with a giant glass of wine and crying my eyes out while the children fend for themselves downstairs.  I'm not going to, but boy do I want to. The days have to get better right?  This is just a rough patch, please tell me this is just a rough patch! Rylie refuses to eat anything I cook.  I know what you mom's are thinking.  She'll eat when she's hungry.  Nope, really she won't.  She cries for something else, something specific.  I love my kids but I'm not making everybody a separate meal. I know, the easy thing would be to just clear the table and then, come time for the next meal, she'll eat.  Can I really send a kid to school without eating, if I know she's hungry? Today, ...

This is the question I keep asking myself today... Should I be doing something? The summer and even the last few months have been so busy.  I spent many days feeling like I was drowning, but seeing the joy and excitement on my kids faces kept me going.  The life of a stay at home mom is more insane than I ever imagined it to be.  I spend my days driving kids to and from school, soccer, dance, art classes, and anywhere else they need to be.  Then, there is the housework. My house has been a pig sty for the last several months.  Thank goodness my husband is so understanding and helpful.  He's jumped in, helping with more loads of laundry and dishes than I'd care to admit. This last week though, I've been up on the housework.  I've had time in my day to get things done and I don't really know where it came from.  All week my house has looked quite clean, lived in, but clean. This morning, after dropping the kids off at school, I came home, folded...

Ok, so of course we've been on our fair share of field trips, but this was Rylie's first field trip that was actually hers!  We went with her preschool class to the pumpkin patch.  She was so excited and even woke up talking about it.  Shawn blocked off the morning in his schedule so that he could go too. I've always been the one to go on field trips with the kids.  I was so glad that Shawn got to go too. We had a really nice time. I have to say though, this was the first field trip I've ever been on where literally every student had a parent with them.  Often they do buddies because about half of the class doesn't have their parents able to attend. The teachers in that school are so sweet too. Rylie was so excited to spend the whole time with us and her good friend Scarlet. Here's some fun pictures from our trip:

So, I decided to take a look back in time on here today.  I wanted to reminisce a little bit.  Imagine my surprise when I open a post, only to find blank white boxes where my photos once were.  I'm heartbroken.  I started this blog to be able to look back, for myself, my husband, my kids, anyone really, and now that's becoming more and more impossible.  My photos are so important to me, and now they have been removed from blog posts without any way of me knowing what pictures they were. Maybe it was something I did... I did have a problem a while ago where iphoto decided to hate me and delete every photo I'd ever added.  Maybe this is just further issues with that, but I honestly thought I'd cleaned up most of that mess.  Really Blogger? Do you hate me?

Hello and happy Monday!!!  I'm not quite sure why, and I don't know how long it will last, but today, I feel fabulous and just know that we're going to have a good Monday for once.  Ok, I know why.  My house is mostly clean.  My husband helped me this weekend get all the horrid cleaning done as well as all the odds and end jobs that need done during the weekend like laundry. Oh I married a wonderful man. Alright, now to my Happy Homemaker Monday post.  You can also join in on the fun and link up to Sandra's awesome page at  Diary of a Stay at Home Mom The weather in my neck of the woods: Right now it's 55 degrees with a high to be expected in the mid to high 70s.  Yesterday was glorious at about 80 degrees and it's only going to get a little chillier every day this week.  Fall is here!  Fall is here! Things that make me happy:  Talking to this goofy little one over breakkie. Book I'm reading: Outside of children's books, I...

Today doesn't seem to feel much differently to me. I'm still chugging along in a haze, completely exhausted and dying for bedtime.  I picked the kids up from marathon club and Ben was his normal sweet self but Sydney greeted me with attitude. Why did nobody tell me that little girls are mini teenagers?  Also, yesterday after watching soccer practice and talking to the coach yesterday, I've found my son isn't the only one having issues at school with behavior. That was a little refreshing. Ben told me he was better today and didn't get into trouble.  That makes me feel better, although I'm not 100% sure he'd tell me if he did get in trouble. As I type, Ben is doing his spelling homework.  He finished his homework grid for September last night around 9 o'clock and today he came home with his October grid.  I took a picture of the homework grid this time, so he can work on it on the weekends as well. Sydney is working on writing the letter p at the kitc...

Oh goodness, today is one of those days.  We got the kids to bed, or at least the older two, at a decent hour last night, but today I'm so exhausted.  I feel that if I close my eyes to blink, I may not open them until I'm done snoring from a nap. I didn't want to get up at all this morning either.  I usually get up and wake the kids, then get ready for the day.  This morning when I got out of bed, I woke up Sydney, and then climbed back into bed. Ben was already up, as I caught him trying to sneak his iPad 30 minutes before time to get up.  iPads are not allowed before school in our home, unless you are completely 100% ready to go to school.  You must be fully dressed including shoes, fed, hair combed, teeth brushed, face washed, and back pack packed before an iPad is even considered. Obviously I told him no, and even tried sending him back to bed, which didn't work. Ben had a rough morning.  He cried when I gave him breakfast bars for breakfast in...

Good Morning!  I was NOT ready for the alarm this morning and snoozed it for another 15 minutes or so. I wasn't really ready for my weekend to be over either... On the weather front: The weather cooled down this weekend to really feel like fall.  Highs in the 70s!  It's so wonderful. On my bedside table: A water bottle, a box of tissues, a baby bottle, my TV and cable remotes, and a book or two. On my TV: I've been binge watching Gossip Girl around my shows from my DVR.  Right now I'm watching Don't Be Tardy, then I have the Manzos and tonight, as a family, we have to watch Doctor Who from this weekend. Favorite Youtube Video last week: I didn't really get a lot of videos in last week.  I was so busy, but there are a few I never miss.  I always watch everything from Claire at The Witt Family, and Rebecca from Percy and Grace.   News story that caught my attention: I can't seem to get passed this story of this poor child that made a clock and t...