Sat. May 22, 2010

I hope I never forget that day. Not because of something that happened in the world news or national news or even local news. Not because someone famous died or got arrested or shamed themselves. Sat. May 22, 2010 will always be the day that I was so proud of my son that I almost busted out the ugly cry...in public...at the ballfield.

This is his second year playing baseball. He's not the best hitter on the team. He can't throw the ball all the way in from the outfield and he loses all sense of urgency when running the bases when he does hit the ball. But...he improves all season long and from one year to the next. He cheers for his team mates (when he's not playing around in the dugout) and tries hard (most of the time). But...Sat. May 22, 2010 was a day that I hope he never forgets, either. Here is what happened...
Time has run out on the clock and we are at the bottom of the inning, our bat. Kyler is up, the other team is up by 1 run (6-7), and we have two outs and a man on base. "God, please help Kyler hit the ball and make it to base. I can't handle it if he gets the last out of the game...again." Strike one! "God, PLEASE, help Kyler hit the ball." The coach pitches the ball...PING! HE HIT IT!! "RUN, KYLER, RUUUUUNNNNN!!!!!" He rounds first and hesitates to run on (despite the coach yelling at him to go to second). After a quick back and forth, which seemed like minutes instead of miliseconds, he makes it to second base. We are tied! "Thank you, God!" Next kid comes up to bat....PING! Hard ground ball right through the infield and keeps rolling into the grass. "RUUUNNNNN, KYLER, RUN HARD!!!" He comes around third and doesn't hesitate to run on to home. The other team throws it home...kid misses the ball...KYLER SCORES!!!!!!

I know Kyler stepped up and hit the tying run in to save the game and that is what made the coach and the team proud. But what makes this so sweet and this mama so proud was that winning run. He has not crossed home plate yet this season, until now. I totally forgot in that moment that poor Juliana was on my hip probably freaking out because mom was jumping and yelling while she held on for dear life...and who knows where Aaliyah was (so thankful for team parents who help keep an eye on everyone else's kids!). I was beyond happy and so proud of my son. You know what's even better than that, though? Seeing how proud daddy was of his son. The look on his face, beneath the sunglasses (thank goodness he was wearing sunglasses, if you get my point), will stay with me even when I'm old and senile.

Stream of consciousness baby update

For the three or four who read my blog...here's an update on Juliana:

She turned 7 months on Tuesday. Wow, time flies even faster the third time around! I totally didn't get any 6 months pictures made...would it still count if I took them now? In the last month she has gone from rolling over slowly to where she wants to go to army crawling, sitting up on her own (when we put her down and pushing herself up to sitting), rocking on her hands and knees, and eating solids. She prefers to have food she can chew on instead of babyfood, so I may just forgo the whole "making baby food" thing like I did with the other two. She has more or less skipped over 6-9 month clothes which is great because we have all Aaliyah's clothes from 12 mos. and up. We are moving the kids rooms around (finally) this weekend. Kyler will get his own room again and Aaliyah will have to learn to share a room...and not wake up her baby sister at 5:30 in the morning! Her little personality is starting to come out and I can't decide if it's a good thing or a bad thing! :) She is not the needy Princess that her sister was, but not quite as easy-going as Kyler was. She is very flexible with her schedule, though, and that's nice. We noticed two little tooth buds starting to appear on her bottom gums, so I guess teething is just around the corner. I predict she will be pulling up and crusing before too long and walking shortly after that...although I hope the walking holds off until 12 months. When my hubby gets the pictures from Mother's Day and her baby dedication uploaded, then I will post some here...or I may have to resort to taking pictures myself for uploading. ;)
I guess that's all for now...better go make sure she hasn't pulled herself up in her crib since she's not asleep yet!

Entering a new season

And here we go. I just registered my oldest for Kindergarten today. Didn't I just have him? Wow. When people tell you to cherish every moment because they grow up so fast, I would just nod my head and agree. I don't think it's sinking in how fast time has gone!
When he was born, school seemed so far off. I couldn't even imagine what it would feel like to have a kid in school. Am I that old already? Today was easy...filling out forms, showing him how the kids walked in a single-file line down the hallway. It's August that I really dread. I don't know if I'll be working or not. I don't know what our lives will be like in 3 months, but I do know that he'll be in school regardless of what happens. I went through times that I wanted to homeschool (honestly, I still do) and times when I was all about sending him off to public school (if it worked for me, he will be fine). Private school has never truly been an option for us (although, it would be nice). I was never really scared about him going to public school...until the last couple of years. I've seen what kids are like now. Surely we didn't act like that? I am scared to let him ride the bus with big, scary 5th graders because he is such a follower and looks up so much to older kids. How do I let go? I pray, constantly. The joke has been that I am already praying for his teacher because he knows so much already, that he will be bored and get in all kinds of trouble. Today, I realize that I need to sincerely pray for his teacher...and everyone he comes in contact with. I need to pray that they will impact him in a positive way; that they will be good role models. I've never really prayed over my child. Now is the time.
I feel as though I haven't truly prepared him for what he's going to face in school. Will he be picked on? How will he handle that? How will I handle that? Is he going to get in trouble all the time? I was never in the principal's office...will he be? God has this amazing way to keep you on your knees when you are a parent. Just when you think you've got the groove going, something else comes up to prove that your children are not your children at all...they are His children. Have I done everything I can do to prepare him? no. Is that even possible? probably not. The only thing I can do at this point is pray without ceasing that I can show him God's love as a parent and that he learns to show others that same love.
Knowing that it takes a village, will you please join me in praying for my son, Kyler? That he learns to follow God with the same wide eyes that he follows the big kids? That God will protect him as he starts school in August and that I can learn to let go just enough...enough to teach him independence but not so much that he forgets how much I love him.

Realization

I have come to the realization in the last few weeks that I have not been tough enough on my son. Maybe it's because I thought explaining things to him would be enough. Maybe it's because I thought his dad was too tough and felt I had to compensate for that. Regardless of the reason, he is now 5 and will start Kindergarten in August. I have begun to give him more freedom and have watched how he interacts with others. Why is it so hard to be tough on him? I want my son to be strong, to be a leader, but also to have compassion for others and give of himself to help them. I want him to know his identity in Jesus Christ and to let His love radiate to others. I realize that I have to lead by example, but my example fails way too often.
I always thought I would have a house full of boys...on some level, I think that would be easier than having only one boy and two girls. I all of a sudden feel completely ill-equipped to raise a son. I know I'm not alone...I do have my husband, but, as a SAHM, I am with the kids more. What he is doing and the way he is acting may be completely normal, but we have higher expectations for our children than "just normal."
Being one who likes to read about parenting, does anyone have any recommendations for books on raising boys? A few of the ones I have heard of tend to be geared more toward older boys (later elementary ages). Any suggestions on books or websites?

What's a SAHM to do?

So...what does a SAHM do when the kids aren't home?



On my list today...take care of a few personal beauty things that have been left behind lately
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Hook up our new-to-us washer (thanks to my wonderful brother!) and do laundry

Clean the house...again...but without interruption and no one to mess it up until tonight

Listen to MY music and sing all day

Clean up big kids' room...and mysteriously more things will go missing that they will never miss

Play with my happy baby

Bake cinnamon rolls for tomorrow's rushed breakfast (the boy has to be at the baseball field at 8:15)

Maybe mow the grass (or at least get it ready to be mowed tomorrow)

Maybe take a nap (if I can stop my mind from racing long enough)

ENJOY THE PEACE AND QUIET!






I love my kids, but we all know mom's need a day off every now and then. Thank you to my wonderful mom for taking them off my hands for the day. :)




So...I want to know what you do when you don't have your kids around.

Facebook status'

If you have been on Facebook for more than a day, then you start to realize that you go through your day thinking in FB status updates. Just last night my husband came home from watching basketball with some guys from work and I asked him how it went. He said "it was basketball. I don't even know who won." (we are NOT a basketball family. we believe that it is just a sport to fill in the gap until football starts up again) I asked him if he even knew who was playing. He said it was Georgetown and some Oklahoma team and I quickly informed him that it couldn't be Georgetown b/c they were beat on Thursday. Then I said "this would make a great FB status!" Anyway, I digress. This morning I have had several potential status updates flow through my head (it happens all the time) and thought I would post them all here.
My morning in FB posts:

-woke up with rip-roaring headache...ugh, need drugs and coffee.
-PTL extra-strength tylenol works on my headaches...did NOT need a migraine today!
-so excited...MY BROTHER IS COMING HOME TOMORROW!! *big cheesy grin* (this one actually made it onto my FB)
-tylenol finally kicked in...an hour later. :\
-mmmm, bacon.
-Aaliyah brought me a pair of shorts and said "here mom, these will fit you"...they were maternity shorts.
-after informing Aaliyah that those shorts only fit when there is a baby in mommy's belly and there is definitely NOT a baby in mommy's belly she brings me a tight, skimpy spaghetti strapped shirt (yeah, thanks dear, that won't fit mommy either...because she has had 3 babies in her belly!)

looks like it's going to be an interesting day already!

New Day

After reading back over yesterday's post, I realized that I am sounding really down and negative lately. That's not who I am most of the time, honestly. Maybe it's God working on my heart a little...or a lot! ;)
The school I used to teach at was amazing. Our principal said at the beginning of every morning, "Good Morning! It is a new day and a new beginning." That's how I feel almost every morning. I wake up thinking, "okay, today is going to be different. I will get all my tasks done and spend time with my children loving on them and just having fun." I'd like to say that those things happen every day, but they don't. Things come up. Cleaning takes longer, I'm on the computer longer than I want to be, the baby decided to throw her schedule out the window or is super whiney or wants to be held more or....well, you get the idea. The days I focus on spending more time just playing with my kids, I feel great about that but then worry that the house looks like a mess. The days I have the house looking great, I feel guilty about not having spent more time playing with my kids.
I guess when you're a mom, there's always something nagging at you. There is always one more thing to be done or something to feel guilty about. That's what makes us a mom! So...today, I will start over. I will let my children help me with the laundry, even if it takes three times as long. I will let them play and be kids, but I will also hold them accountable for their actions, discipline them when they disobey, and teach them about giving to others. I will let them wash their own dishes (yes, they like to do it and ask to!) even if I have to go back and wash them again then clean up the water all over the counters and floor. I WILL LOVE MY CHILDREN THE WAY GOD LOVES US! Without condition, despite their flaws and disobedience, in spite of their sassy mouths and selfishness.