Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow....

It seems like lately I spend all of my free computer time on my playgroup message boards. So then, I have little time left to blog. However, now that I have thoroughly ticked several people off with my opinions, I thought it was time to head back over this way. (I am just SO not used to my opinion being the odd one out. Partly why I chose to join this group...I'm too used to being around people who all think like me...or at least close!)

We had a really great (NEEDED) workday around the house today. We just got a lot done and it feels so good! Now if we could just keep up this pace we might have our house presentable in a matter of years! No, it's not really that bad. It just feels like we never make any headway b/c we're constantly keeping up w/ surface stuff....we never have the time to do the painting & such that we want to do. We have had a gallon of paint in our bedroom since November and have yet to paint....Anyone want to help??? It's just so hard w/ the kids b/c the only time we are free of them is if they are asleep...and then we don't want to make the noise back there b/c well...they are sleeping!

Vox is moving into Cite Dez Arts in downtown Lafayette. It's a community theater/art building. We start meeeting there this week. It's such a perfect fit for us! The hardest thing will be getting the kids area ready...but we've got some good plans to make use of the space we've got. (There's a lot of space, and that's part of the problem...)

Perhaps as I get back into the swing of (blog) things, this will read less like a daytimer and more like a journal again...maybe...

Family Foto

It seems like we don't have many opportunities for the whole fam to be in a pic...and if we are, it is seldom that we're all looking the same way or not fighting to hold on to the kids. So here's the best one in a while! Thanks Sid!

As if we didn't have enough to clean & take care of...

Meet our newest mess maker - Aspen! We just got her Saturday morning. She is a 6 week old lab/retriever mix.

Jed seems to get more nervous as times goes, rather than less...we were hoping for less. Oh well. I think it will just take time for him to get used to the idea that she's sticking around. He can't keep his legs pulled up on the couch (or bike) forever!

Riley gets her death grip going, skin & all....but Aspen seems to enjoy it! Probably a lot like how Aspen's mommy used to carry her around. Riley's first across the room crawl was right to Aspen's water bowl...hand in & splashing!

Quarantined!

Jed & Riley have both been sick these past couple of weeks. Started out as a cold & turned into something bigger. Although we still don't know what exactly. Some sort of virus that has given them croup, fever and terrible snot & chest congestion. We have been to the Dr. 3 times in the past 5 days. They took blood & urine from Riley to make sure that she didn't have a Urinary Track Infection. Nope. We're good. They took blood from Jed and he's good too. They've been given antibiotics and steroids. They prescribed Riley a breathing machine with treatments. (Thank you Medicaid for footing the bill on all of this!) Trips to the Dr. are killing me lately - they usually last anywhere from 2-3 hours...and the last couple we have had to wait for Riley to pee in this little bag that they attached to her. Killer when you've already been there FOREVER! We're hoping this will go away quickly so that we can resume life again soon.

New Favorite

Jed has a new favorite thing to do. Wash. It all started when one day I decided that I'd let him help me measure out the water for a cake I was making. Now I can't get him to stop begging to play up in the sink. And he always wants the water on 'big'. Not the little (economical) stream that I turn on for him to play in. "No" of course, results in the following picture!

Misconceptions...

Just wanted to make sure that no one thinks that life in our house is all smiles! I know I have a tendancy to post only happy pictures of the kids. Although, he still looks adorable even with that sad face!

Politics, Religion & Parenting

You know how there are just certain topics that will always get arguments going? Well I have decided that Parenting is right up there with Politics and Religion.

I'm finding that the way I parent is very different than a lot of the people I'm meeting these days. We, of course, all think that they way we do it is the best way, otherwise we wouldn't still be doing it. I've come to realize that a BIG factor in determining our parenting styles is our priorities.

I'm sure I come off looking like a cold hearted mom at times. My kids don't get everything they want, when they want it. They get spankings. Well, Jed does. And a hug & kiss right after. They have to sleep in their own beds at night. Sometimes they even have to 'cry it out'. But they get love. They get chasing each other around the wall that divides the kitchen and the living room. They get respect. They get coloring together at our little table. They get dancing in the living room to country music. They get book after book at bedtime. They get 'armpit checks' where Jed begs to tickle or be tickled. They get to help mom load clothes in the washer & dryer. They get endless hugs and kisses. They get to sit on the counter and help mom cook dinner & wash dishes. They get mile long walks around the neighborhood with mom & dad. They get 'hop on pop' episodes until Drew laughs so hard he's crying. They get sacrifice after sacrifice made for them. They get parents who act in their best interest. They are loved in a way that, I hope, teaches them what (or rather Who) Love really is.

While their happiness one of our greatest priorities, it is not our only priority... Not even our first priority.

Losing Legs. Gaining Ground.

Jed got a book for his birthday called The Very Hungry Caterpillar. (Thank you Emily!) We read it just about every night. And every nap time. He really enjoys it. And of course, every book w/ a caterpillar always becomes a butterfly at the end. And rightfully so. That's what caterpillars where made to be.

They spend weeks trapped in a cocoon. Closed off from the world. Then they emerge more beautiful and more vibrant than ever. They get to see life from a whole new viewpoint.

There are so many illustrations about life to be drawn from this. And I have no intention of getting into them.

This post is way more personal.

I have been in my cocoon long enough, all wrapped up in my duties as a mom & homemaker. Right now, I'm pushing thru all of that and rediscovering that there's more to me than this. Make no mistake, I'm still a mom. And I still clean house - well, kind of. Now I'm just remembering that I'm so much more...