Confessions of a Bad Mom....Part 1

Okay.....I am about to be brutally honest.  I have given this blog a title of Confessions of a Bad Mom...Part 1, because I am SURE there are many other confessions to come, but today I will pick just one.

First, let me start by saying that I love my girls....they are the BEST and make my job of being a mom my favorite job in the whole world. That being said, they talk a LOT!!!  Now, those of you who know me know that they get this trait from their dad (yeah, right!)  UGH!!  It is a me trait!  Autumn is a visual talker...she talks constantly and uses lots of descriptives, hand motions, body movements, tumbling acts, dance moves, and well, her stories are L-O-N-G!  Nothing wrong with this, but I find myself multi-tasking through the stories.  This makes me sad at times, because I feel I should be giving her my full attention during these riveting stories....so, I will try to work on this.  (Maybe...)  :)

Allie....well, she talks a LOT, but she is more short and to the point, so I find myself listening to her conversation intently until I realize she is going to tell about 500 stories in a short period, and she randomly throws in things that don't make sense.  Things like....my day was great today, I had fun playing outside, I found a moon rock, I think I have ants in my pants, can I go out and play?  What?  Moon rock?  Ants?  Sure, honey....go on out!  What?  How come I'm not asking more questions?

Speaking of questions...just about every conversation in our house that will involve a question starts like this...."Mom, can I ask you a question?"  I tried the response..."You just did.." but it was just met with, "Can I ask another one?"  Sure.  :)

I never thought, key word being THOUGHT, I would be the kind of mom that smiled and nodded at their child and was thinking about a million other things....truth...I am.  :(

Now, I do LOVE our real conversations....the ones where they REALLY talk to me....about their friends, their day, the dreams, goals, etc.  I also, never want to miss out on any of the other conversations either.  I LOVE that they want to talk to me and I am so glad they have so much to say.

So, this mom will try to be a better listener.....a new goal.

Have a GREAT night!  Thanks for listening to me!  :)

Back To Reality.......

Spring Break is over.....I know that I am lucky, with a job that provides a Spring Break, but I felt like it was a NEED this year.  My classes are GREAT, things are going GREAT, but I just needed some down time and am extremely thankful that I got it.

Things I loved about this Spring Break....

1. Sleeping in.....the girls did not wake me until after 8 each day...which was WONDERFUL!!!

2. Having no place to be.....there was nothing that HAD to be done....and that was nice!

3. Being outside....for the most part, we had GREAT weather...which may be a reason it will be hard to go back to school/work....I love being outside in 70-80 degree/sunny days.

4. Reading books.....I read 3 books over the break....loved it.

5. Doing a few arts/crafts...I painted and made a few wreaths.  Such fun!!

6.  Running....I was able to run 25.7 miles over the break!  Yay!!!

7. Spending time with friends....mystery dinners, movies, eating at Cupcakes on Kavanaugh, playing dominoes, visiting, laughing, eating...the list goes on and on.

8. Spending time with my family....I LOVED being home with my girls.  They have been soooooo much fun over the break.  We've played, snuggled, watched TV, gone on picnics, and just spent QUALITY time together.  Mark was even able to take some time off this week which was FANTASTIC!  We were able to take the girls to the movies, go to Wye Mtn., and work in the yard.  We also got to do a few things without kids!  Woooo Hooo!!!

It has been a GREAT week....only 9 more weeks to go until summertime!!!  Yay!!!!  Have a GREAT week!

Rain.....

I don't mind a rainy day.  In fact. sometimes I am GLAD for a rainy day.  Rain, of course, is a need.

However, I think rain is a reminder to us as well.  It is a reminder that not everything about life will be happy and sunshiny all the time.  It is a reminder that sometimes we need to let the tears flow or have a gloomy day, or that we just need down time.

Now that Spring is here, I LOVE being outside.  I love to work in the flower beds, or sit outside and read a book, or play with the girls outside.  But, there are things that must be taken care of inside too.  The sunnier and nicer it is....the less I want to do inside.  Rainy days are the days I don't mind staying inside, I don't feel like I am going to miss out on something by not being outside.

Today worked out perfectly.....it's Spring Break and Mark stayed home with us today.  We went and saw a movie, The Lorax, then went and bought a tree that I have been wanting, a pink dogwood.  Then we came home and planted it.  As soon as it was in the ground and we had packed everything up...down came the rain.  It was perfect timing.  It was time to go in and just be.......:)

What I hope my tree will look like someday.  :)

Now, all this being said...several rainy days can be depressing, plus it can causing flooding, and all sorts of other problems.  So, with any luck this rain will be done soon and I can go back out and enjoy another pretty day.

Good friends.....

What is a good friend?  In church today, we heard the 3 traits that are traits of being a good friend.  The 3 traits aren't anything unexpected, or shocking.....but they did make me think.

1. A GOOD friend encourages us.

Now, let's think about this.  Who do you encourage?  Does that SAME person encourage you?  I have 557 friends on Facebook.  Other than if I have a motivational status that impacts someone, I know I am not encouraging 557 of my friends on a daily basis, or a weekly basis, or monthly basis for that matter.  I do know that I try to encourage my friends, but I don't encourage ALL of them.  However, I started thinking about those that encourage me.  This is an important thing.  It is GREAT that I might encourage some, but who is encouraging me?  I've realized that friends I have gotten upset with or, stopped encouraging is probably a result of the fact I don't feel they encourage me.  Now, please don't think I am asking for encouragement.  I'm not.  I'm just understanding that it is important for it to be a 2 way street.  I also realize that I have probably lost GOOD friends, ones that were encouraging me, when I didn't encourage them.  For that, I am sorry.

2. A GOOD friend keeps us on the right path.

This one is kind of interesting.  I believe it means to keep us going and doing what is right.  I also think it means helping us to be ourselves.  I have some friends who I can truly be myself around and I LOVE being with those people.  I have other friends, that when I am around them I find myself trying to be who they (as I feel) want me to be, and usually those times aren't as fun.  Now, that is silly.  I am who I am...and that should be enough for a GOOD friend.  I think this one is tough for kids in school.  Here is where we have to learn that it is okay to be ourselves and not act like others.

3. A GOOD friend complements us.  (Notice, it's not compliments...though that is always nice.)

A good friend helps us see our strengths and weaknesses.  They are there through the good and bad.  They are there when we need them, whether it be to just listen, or to just talk.  They are willing to support us and tell us the truth when it needs to be heard.  They remind us of our priorities and yet remind us of our free-spiritedness.

Friendship is tough.  You have to be there for the GOOD and the BAD days.  It's funny, there are some friends that I would NEVER tell I had a bad day.....why is that?  We all have them....the truth is I don't think they will really care, so, it is easier to just pretend that my life is great.

I am thankful for all of my friends, but I am especially grateful for my GOOD friends.  My encouragers, my friends who help me to be me and inspire me to have fun and live life to the fullest, my friends who complement me and help to make my life better.

I hope you are this type of friend to others and that you have friends that are this for you.

I loved this scene from Steel Magnolias...."Here, hit this!!!"

Have a WONDERFUL Sunday!  :)