A busy bee...

As I previously posted, I'm working to have my kids help me more around the house. How else are they to learn responsibility? As a friend of mine told me years ago, it's just easier to do it yourself. Yes, but will it still be easier to do it yourself when they're 16? 20? Probably not. So, we start small. The kids pick up their toys and books, usually at the end of the day or right before we head out somewhere. My oldest cleans up her spot at the table when she's done eating. They also put their dirty clothes in the laundry. If I'm doing major cleaning the kids like to "help". It always takes twice as long, but in the long run, I've helped all of us. And won't their future spouses thank me someday?

A little lost...

Sorry to have been so absent lately. I've been a tad bit, well, lost. The kids and work take up much of my time. But I've gotten myself motivated to unpack my house lately. You see I moved in my apartment over a month ago and haven't finished unpacking yet. I figured out the best way to clean and unpack was to involve the kids. I'm assured that it isn't slave labor to have my four year old vacuum my living room....with a hand vac. And I have to say, 700 square feet feel a little bigger without the boxes.

In other news, I've had my first negative comment about extended breastfeeding. My son is 19 months and still happily breastfeeding. I've gotten the occasional odd look when I say I need to find the shirt that says "Boob Man". This past weekend though, a friend gave me an odd look with the words, "You're STILL breastfeeding?". Why shouldn't I? The AAP reccomends it. The WHO reccomends it. And hey, most of you who know me, know that I just like to do stuff to make people go, "huh?"

Bleh

I'm having one of those days. The ones where you finish the day off by banging your head into a wall because of all the things you wish you could do over. Like screaming at your toddler to leave the kitchen, just so you could open the oven. Or forgetting that small children have no concept of time. Never tell them that you're going somewhere later, they only know now.

The good news is that small children are often very forgiving. After about the tenth time I'd lost my patience with my children, my daughter brought me a flower she had picked. It's nothing special, just some little weed she found. But her intent was to make Mommy happy again. We both said we were sorry and picked blackberries. And somehow, that's enough. Just a hug and an apology and all is well again in the world.

Oh to be that little once again.

Let them be little...

"So let them be little,
'Cause they're only that way for a while.
Give 'em hope, give them praise,
Give them love every day.
Let 'em cry, let 'em giggle,
Let 'em sleep in the middle,
Oh, but let them be little. "
--Billy Dean

Any country fan has heard the words of that song. Any parent can relate to it. This song struck me today. I took my kids shoe shopping (again). It seems that before I know it, they've out grown their old clothes and shoes. I always pray that they'll be little just a little longer. At the same time, cheering every milestone and every accomplishment. Of course, God just smiles and lets them grow.

Gardening

At work, I do a lot of gardening. Not that I'm a gardener by trade, just that I help others with their gardens. Spending all that time with my hands in the dirt, I've come to a simple conclusion.

Life is a garden.

We have a beautiful garden in our children. We are the gardeners, pulling the weeds. But let's look deeper...there's more than plants in a garden. Bugs are important too. They may annoy us, those little pulls at independance that our children have, the growing up they do. But they are essential parts of making a beautiful garden. What are flowers without bees?

So the next time you are with your child, ask yourself this: Am I pulling the weeds and leaving the bees?

It takes a village...

You've heard the phrase, it takes a village to raise a child. I was discussing this in my Sunday School class last Sunday. We bemoaned the fact that Americans seem to be losing the village mentality. I don't think that's entirely true. I think our parameters of a village have just changed over the years.

Since the birth of the internet, we can connect with people from all over the world. I can say I have friends in New Jersey, Florida and Texas even though I live in the Pacific Northwest. Why? Because I am part of a message board of awesome moms who are from all over the US, Canada and we even have members from outside North America. While these moms can't just pick up to visit me, we can encourage each other. We solve parenting and relationship problems. We bitch and we congratulate. We are a village.

Now, we're just missing the idiot....