What I learned in 2011.... its a lot of work growing a person!! As I was reflecting last night over the last year I realized that all of 2011 was spent growing a person and learning that person! WOW that was a busy year! I am so thankful for my little Baby Z he is so special and so fun! Since he is number 3 I think he is more aware of his surroundings than the other two. Its so fun to watch him watch his brothers, he gets so excited to see them going crazy! Big E has been so interactive with him lately, it just melts my heart! Although I do get a little nervous when I am in another room and the baby starts crying out, then you wonder what happened! Asking Big E doesn't always help, because he seems to want to try and hide what he did.
I have been trying to figure out what my goals are for 2012, so far I have come up with very little! Not sure if that's a good thing or not. For 2012 my main goal is to learn how to be more frugal! Since adding another boy to your family I just keep adding up the bills in my head (not so much for now, but down the road!). I grew up with two brothers and I just remember how much food my mom would say she would have to buy in a week! Its amazing parents didn't go broke!! 5 gallons of milk!!! 3 gallons of ice cream!!! 5 boxes of cereal!! OH BOY!!! Frugality needs happen in this house!!
So beginning tomorrow I will be doing the frugally sustainable challenge. I am really hoping to gain some better knowledge of what that truly means to others and then to apply that to my family.
To be frugally sustainable, to me means, not wasting, being able to produce as much on your own as possible, and reusing things that we may normally just toss. For the past few years we have "tried" to have a garden, not very successfully, I might add!! So one goal for this year to get it under control and take some more risks in what we plant. I would love to learn to can our produce and have food stored up for the winter.
For now those are my goals, I am hoping to add some more to this list in the next few weeks. Hopefully by the end of the month I will have a good goal set for the coming year.
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
November...REALLY!!!???
Here we are at the beginning of November... REALLY!!! I can not believe that the last 2 months have gone by so fast! I have an almost 3 month old and I feel like it was just yesterday that he was born. Baby Z has grown so much and is changing everyday. He gives us smiles all the time and he loves his big-est brother tons! Every time Big E comes near, Baby Z gets a huge smile on his face. Baby Z's newest game is sticking his tongue out at us, he thinks its the best game ever!!
Big E has lost two teeth now and loves first grade! He is learning so much! We got his report card the other day and I was so proud of him. He got all 3's and 4's (which are basically A's and B's), there was one "needs improvement", can you guess what that was?! Writting neatly! Apparently he rushes and doesn't take his time to print neatly. Go figure!! They gave us a scale of reading, so we could know where he falls in his reading ability. We knew he was a good reader but we didn't realize how good! He is about at a 2nd grade level for his reading! We are so proud of him! He loves to learn and read new things!!
Little N has not been faring so well these past few weeks. The new baby was really cramping his style. In the past few days though he has gotten a lot better. We have had to make lots of new adjustments to the way things are done. Daddy has been more intentional at spending quality time with each of the bigger boys every night, but more with Little N. I think Little N was feeling really trapped in the middle. This has given us great improvements and has helped me out during the day. I have also been able to just "let go" of the pressure of housework so that I can spend time playing with him. My house has suffered but things get done, its just not done as neatly and at the time I would like it to be done. BUT I have been given some awesome advice from some "seasoned" moms, they have told me that my kids will not remember whether their house was clean but they will remember whether their mom or dad spent time with them!
In a few short weeks we will be taking a family trip. This is very nerve racking for me! Its the first time we have taken the bigger kids any farther than a 3 hour drivve from our house. Its going to be about a 15 hour (technically) but probably more like 17 or 18 hour drive. We will be doing most of our traveling while the kids are sleeping over night (hopefully!). We are also hoping Baby Z is sleeping through the night by then, he does really well now. We do not have to feed him in the middle of the night so that might help. We are so excited to take this trip though, we will be going to visit my oldest brother and his family. This will be the first time we have seen them in over 2 years. They also just had a new baby that is 5 weeks younger than our Baby Z. So this is going to be a great time of family and cousins getting to know each other! What better way to spend the holiday than with family!!
Big E has lost two teeth now and loves first grade! He is learning so much! We got his report card the other day and I was so proud of him. He got all 3's and 4's (which are basically A's and B's), there was one "needs improvement", can you guess what that was?! Writting neatly! Apparently he rushes and doesn't take his time to print neatly. Go figure!! They gave us a scale of reading, so we could know where he falls in his reading ability. We knew he was a good reader but we didn't realize how good! He is about at a 2nd grade level for his reading! We are so proud of him! He loves to learn and read new things!!
Little N has not been faring so well these past few weeks. The new baby was really cramping his style. In the past few days though he has gotten a lot better. We have had to make lots of new adjustments to the way things are done. Daddy has been more intentional at spending quality time with each of the bigger boys every night, but more with Little N. I think Little N was feeling really trapped in the middle. This has given us great improvements and has helped me out during the day. I have also been able to just "let go" of the pressure of housework so that I can spend time playing with him. My house has suffered but things get done, its just not done as neatly and at the time I would like it to be done. BUT I have been given some awesome advice from some "seasoned" moms, they have told me that my kids will not remember whether their house was clean but they will remember whether their mom or dad spent time with them!
In a few short weeks we will be taking a family trip. This is very nerve racking for me! Its the first time we have taken the bigger kids any farther than a 3 hour drivve from our house. Its going to be about a 15 hour (technically) but probably more like 17 or 18 hour drive. We will be doing most of our traveling while the kids are sleeping over night (hopefully!). We are also hoping Baby Z is sleeping through the night by then, he does really well now. We do not have to feed him in the middle of the night so that might help. We are so excited to take this trip though, we will be going to visit my oldest brother and his family. This will be the first time we have seen them in over 2 years. They also just had a new baby that is 5 weeks younger than our Baby Z. So this is going to be a great time of family and cousins getting to know each other! What better way to spend the holiday than with family!!
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Failure....
Websters definition of failure is this: nonperformance of something due, required, or expected, lack of success, deterioration or decay, especially of vigor, strength. Man does that describe me today! Here is a series of events that took place at my home just about 2 hours ago.
I awake after being able to sleep in a little, my husband had gotten up with the baby at about 5:30, so I could rest. That was so sweet, and I was so grateful for the extra hour and a half to sleep in! So I walk out of our bedroom to my little sweet N telling me he needed some milk! My husband was busy with the baby, he had just finished his bottle and needed to be changed. So with some asking my little sweet N, how he was supposed to ask for his milk, he finally said "please, may I have some milk". Sure sweet little N, I would be happy to get it for you! THEN.... while pouring him a cup of milk, into the cup that he had gotten out, I realized there was still a cup of milk in the refrigerator so I get that cup out and discover that it just had a little bit left in it. I decided that rather than waste the milk that was already in the refrigerator I would pour that remaining milk into his cup. Well that did not sit well with him and he began throwing a fit. Now here is where the failure on my part took place. Instead of reacting calmly and rationally to the fit throwing, now hanging on my leg, sweet little N, I blew up! I was so upset with the attitude he has been having lately, that I lost it! I threw his milk into the refrigerator, grabbed him up and spanked his little bottom. You would think that would have been enough for his sweet little heart. BUT I continued to lose it and I took him down the hall and tossed him onto his bed, and went storming from his room slamming his door (which by the way, they get time outs for!). Then I proceeded to my bedroom and slammed my door! Oh boy is this really me!!!
After spending 5 minutes cooling off in my room, leaving my poor husband (who was changing the baby and had no idea what was going on), to deal with this situation, I emerged! Still not too calm but feeling like I needed to go and talk to my sweet little N. Going into his room, where he was now standing in the middle of it, looking a little unsure of what just happened. I walk up to him and get down to his level and have to apologize for yelling at him and getting upset like I did. Now if you have never had to apologize to your kids, then you have no idea how humble it makes you! After apologizing and grab him onto my lap and cuddle his little heart out. BUT I can tell that he is still not sure what to think of this whole situation. After holding him for a few minutes he decided he's done and gets up to join his brother watching Saturday morning cartoons in the living room. All this to say that I feel like a total failure today, and I now that only by the grace of my loving Heavenly Father will I be forgiven!!
This message of a loving Heavenly Father is so important to me that I always feel terrible when I lose my temper with my children, because I am supposed to be the example for them to go by!! I am supposed to be who they can trust in this world!! BUT I also know that my Heavenly Father is a powerful, forgiving, and loving God who is more wonderful that I can ever express to my children. I lay them into his hands daily, for their protection and their faith!! I am so blessed to know that nothing I can do will bring them to His loving Hands its only by His divine power that any of us are called to HIM!! Thank you Jesus for bridging that gap for us, so that we can come to God's loving hand and sit with Him in Heaven one day!!
I awake after being able to sleep in a little, my husband had gotten up with the baby at about 5:30, so I could rest. That was so sweet, and I was so grateful for the extra hour and a half to sleep in! So I walk out of our bedroom to my little sweet N telling me he needed some milk! My husband was busy with the baby, he had just finished his bottle and needed to be changed. So with some asking my little sweet N, how he was supposed to ask for his milk, he finally said "please, may I have some milk". Sure sweet little N, I would be happy to get it for you! THEN.... while pouring him a cup of milk, into the cup that he had gotten out, I realized there was still a cup of milk in the refrigerator so I get that cup out and discover that it just had a little bit left in it. I decided that rather than waste the milk that was already in the refrigerator I would pour that remaining milk into his cup. Well that did not sit well with him and he began throwing a fit. Now here is where the failure on my part took place. Instead of reacting calmly and rationally to the fit throwing, now hanging on my leg, sweet little N, I blew up! I was so upset with the attitude he has been having lately, that I lost it! I threw his milk into the refrigerator, grabbed him up and spanked his little bottom. You would think that would have been enough for his sweet little heart. BUT I continued to lose it and I took him down the hall and tossed him onto his bed, and went storming from his room slamming his door (which by the way, they get time outs for!). Then I proceeded to my bedroom and slammed my door! Oh boy is this really me!!!
After spending 5 minutes cooling off in my room, leaving my poor husband (who was changing the baby and had no idea what was going on), to deal with this situation, I emerged! Still not too calm but feeling like I needed to go and talk to my sweet little N. Going into his room, where he was now standing in the middle of it, looking a little unsure of what just happened. I walk up to him and get down to his level and have to apologize for yelling at him and getting upset like I did. Now if you have never had to apologize to your kids, then you have no idea how humble it makes you! After apologizing and grab him onto my lap and cuddle his little heart out. BUT I can tell that he is still not sure what to think of this whole situation. After holding him for a few minutes he decided he's done and gets up to join his brother watching Saturday morning cartoons in the living room. All this to say that I feel like a total failure today, and I now that only by the grace of my loving Heavenly Father will I be forgiven!!
This message of a loving Heavenly Father is so important to me that I always feel terrible when I lose my temper with my children, because I am supposed to be the example for them to go by!! I am supposed to be who they can trust in this world!! BUT I also know that my Heavenly Father is a powerful, forgiving, and loving God who is more wonderful that I can ever express to my children. I lay them into his hands daily, for their protection and their faith!! I am so blessed to know that nothing I can do will bring them to His loving Hands its only by His divine power that any of us are called to HIM!! Thank you Jesus for bridging that gap for us, so that we can come to God's loving hand and sit with Him in Heaven one day!!
2 Thessalonians 1:11, 12
...that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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